MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — U.S. Attorney Bill Powell says violent crime is down in north West Virginia as efforts to address the drug crisis continues.
Statistics released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia show violent crime fell 30% in Bridgeport, Martinsburg and Wheeling. The trend comes as the office has hired 50% more prosecutors since 2016.
“Crime generally has been dropping in double digits across the district, not in every city, but overall a bid drop in crime across the district,” Powell said Wednesday.
Powell added enforcement is only one part of the enforcement efforts, noting the emphasis on education, prevention and treatment.
“We’re picking up information from our various investigations that they all know we prosecute folks aggressively,” he said. “I think some of them now avoid coming here and the numbers reflect that.”