OCEAN CITY – A decrease in arrests, service calls and serious crimes highlight the Ocean City Police Department’s annual report.
On Monday, Ocean City Police Chief Ross Buzzuro presented the Mayor and Council with the department’s 2022 annual report. The 24-page document not only reports crime statistics and comparisons, but information on community events and activities within each police division.
“I want to say this year in review really showcases the hard work and effort of your police department – the fine men and women, civilian and sworn – that gave everything they had in 2022,” he said.
In this week’s presentation, Buzzuro detailed the department’s community engagement efforts in 2022, including the OCPD’s participation in the Special Olympics of Maryland Torch Run, the Polar Bear Plunge and National Night Out.
“Our top priority is partnering with our community,” he told the Mayor and Council. It’s no secret that our success, our effectiveness, is forging a relationship with the public.”
He also highlighted the effectiveness of the department’s body-worn camera program, which was deployed last summer. Buzzuro explained body-worn cameras have contributed to less Taser use and fewer assaults on officers. From 2021 to 2022, assaults on officers decreased from 184 to 132.
“It’s already paying dividends …,” he said. “What we’re already seeing is increased public confidence in our police department. We are seeing less use of force. We’re seeing a reduction in complaints. So that resource, that asset, is already working really well for us.”
The OCPD also reported 39,752 officer-initiated calls for service and 17,233 citizen-initiated calls for service. Buzzuro said that didn’t include the roughly 500 business checks officers conducted each week.
“When we look at calls for service, we are going in the right direction,” he said.
Under its Uniform Crime Reporting, which includes all serious crimes that occurred within the Town of Ocean City, the department reported a 4% decrease.
“In 2022, we recorded 1,579 Part I crimes …,” he told the Mayor and Council. “Looking back, it’s the second lowest we’ve had in 30 years. We’re not only below where we were pre-COVID, but we’re moving in a direction to our all-time statistical lows in terms of Part I crimes.”
He also highlighted a decrease in criminal citations, controlled dangerous substance arrests and custodial arrests, which had declined from 2,843 in 2021 to 2,178 in 2022.
“We’ve decreased arrests somewhat significantly, over 600 less this past year,” he said. “It’s one of the fewest we’ve ever had in the last five years.”
The Mayor and Council this week also received statistics on traffic stops, collisions and criminal investigations. Buzzuro said the criminal investigation division handled 162 cases in 2022, which included 52 Part 1 crimes.
“Their clearance rate for closure is 96%,” he said. “That means 19 out of 20 cases are getting solved, getting closed. That is way above any national average.”
Buzzuro this week also presented the Mayor and Council with an update on the department’s seasonal recruitment.
“There have been challenges in hiring seasonal officers and public safety aides,” he said. “We are finishing up our recruitment efforts, and I am pleased that we’re going to announce we’re going to be very close to where we were last year … In this environment, that’s a pretty big accomplishment.”
Buzzuro also announced the department’s transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS. While law enforcement agencies across the country have used the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program for decades, officials say the shift to NIBRS will provide more useful statistics on crime within the community.
“It’s a more comprehensive, drilled down approach to reporting crime,” he said.
Officials report the NIBRS system captures every separate offense that occurred during each crime incident, while UCR collects more limited information. They say that would result in higher crime numbers when compared to UCR.
“The NIBRS system will change the number of crimes,” Buzzuro said this week. “And when they are being recorded and produced, we will be able to flesh out the reasoning behind the different crimes and what is actually occurring.”
