KILLEEN, TX – Killeen is home to more than 150,000 people, many of whom are veterans or active duty military at Fort Hood.
“It has a story, it’s the home of heroes,” Killeen Police Department Chief Charles Kimble said.
But here’s the thing, Killeen has a long reputation as a high crime town and the people of Killeen know it.
“A lot of them are concerned about that, but the good thing is that given the size of the town of Killeen, crime is relatively low,” Kimble said.
According to Killeen PD, the violent crime rate has increased from 50 violent crimes per 100,000 population in January 2021 to over 57 in January this year.
It’s a boost that Chief Kimble is contributing to the town’s recent growth.
“There are a lot of buildings in Killeen. We build houses, we build schools. There’s a brand new school just down the street from here. Which is a good thing, but it also brings crime because criminals see the same opportunity as businessmen,” Chief Kimble said.
According to the Census Bureau, Killeen’s population has grown from nearly 128,000 in 2010 to over 153,000 in 2020.
According to Chief Kimble, this means the crime rate is going down.
“Crime numbers have gone up and down, it’s pretty stable, but the population of Killeen has gone up a lot. So we are measured on the crime rate and given the size of this town and the level of crime, the crime rate has actually gone down over the last four years,” Chief Kimble said.
The majority of Killeen residents never even see a crime, but not everyone is riding the straight and narrow.
“There is a small population that preys on most law-abiding citizens, and we will pursue them aggressively.” said Chief Kimble.
KPD says you can help by saying something if you see something.