In a press release the Michigan City Police Department stated the following. “Reports from a recent posting by 24/7 Wall St. in USA TODAY, have described the violent crime rate in the Michigan City-LaPorte Metro area to have increased drastically in the last five years. We the Michigan City Police Department dispute this claim and can only speak on our statistical data that we report annually. The article itself is quite contradictory and makes it difficult to interpret. According to 24/7 Wall St. they claim to have reviewed FBI data for nearly 200 metropolitan areas nationwide to identify the cities where crime is soaring. We would like to know how these cities were selected? Numerous phone calls and emails from Police Chief Mark Swistek to both USA Today and 24/7 Wall street have gone unanswered. With our department and departments across the country, we submit a complete Uniform Crime Report (UCR), to the FBI annually. We have since reviewed our statistical data from 2011-2015 and looked at 2016 as it relates to the recent posting in USA Today. The crime reporting data specifically for 2014 and 2015 was the lowest in the past twenty years that this department has reported. When comparing 2015 to 2016 we reported a 3.8% increase in overall crime. For example, as it relates to violent crime our data reported 2 homicides in 2015 compared to 3 in 2016. We want to assure our community that the Michigan City Police Department is committed to protecting and serving the citizens of our great city. We would encourage residents to visit the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting site to view all of the data that we report annually. To visit their site please use the following link: https://ucr.fbi.gov/ . As always if you feel that you have been scammed or someone is attempting to cheat you please contact Sgt. Chris Yagelski 873-1461 ext. #1020 or email ASKACOP@emichigancity.com” .