Violent crime has been trending down in Benton Harbor and Benton Township, according to their police agencies.

Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis and Benton Township Police Chief Greg Abrams went over some numbers on this week’s edition of Chatting with the Chiefs. Abrams said murders in the township were down last year.

“Everybody in the township — life was not taken by some other entity other than natural causes,” Abrams said. “So we only had two. So that’s the amen to that.”

In 2023, the township had five murders. There were seven in 2022, four in both 2021 and 2020, and three in 2019. Abrams said assaults were also down in 2024. Benton Harbor’s Dan McGinnis said it’s been quieter in the city as well.

“Our nonfatal shootings are down,” McGinnis said. “We actually did, for my update, we did have a shooting Tuesday and that was the first one in weeks. I think we’ve only had two, maybe three, like the last three months. So, we’re going the right direction.”

McGinnis said the department of public safety is preparing for the spring, seeking to have more patrols and programs in place to keep crime down. He said one element of that effort will be community partners.