GTV NEWS: Shots-fired stats difficult to define

Early this week, the Grand Rapids Police Department released statistics that said violent crime is down in Grand Rapids in 2011. 

But information obtained by Target 8 indicate that the number of shots on Grand Rapids streets may be higher then initially reported. 


Crime statistics presented to the city commissionindicated that Part One offenses -- like murder, rape and robbery -- were down 17.5% and Part Two crime -- like fraud, gambling and drunk driving -- were down .6%. 


And reports of shots fired, GRPD Chief Kevin Belk said, were up a little more than 20%. 


"What we call reckless discharge or other incidents -- sounds of gun shots, discharging of firearms within the city limits -- we've actually seen over a 20% increase, so that's something that obviously causes us quite a bit of concern," Belk told City Council. 


But internal numbers obtained by Target 8 showed that there were about 300 shootings within city limits in 2011. That's an increase of about 35% from 2010. 


Belk told Target 8 that those figures aren't accurate,and that information was not authorized by him. He said the numbers we had aren't accurate, and were only meant for internal training purposes. 


So why the discrepancy? 


Belk told Target 8 over the phone Wednesday morning that he would not comment on camera about our story. He changed his mind Thursday afternoon when Target 8 told him we were moving ahead with the story. 


"The sound of gunshots could turn out to be a homicide, it could turn out to be fireworks. It's a broad category," said Belk. 


Police officials said it's hard to define what qualifies as a shooting and what doesn't -- especially when there isn't a victim. Belk told Target 8 that many times, the department will get reports of shots fired but when officers get to the scene, there's little evidence. 


This is how he explained the differences in the numbers to Target 8: 


"Especially into the last year, the person doing this had begun counting other things. It started out as apples, started adding in oranges and then in last year started adding in pears as well, so it became limited value," said Belk. 


Officials also told Target 8 that incidents can also be categorized differently depending on who's doing the reporting. 


Weapons discharges aren't something that the FBI makes local departments track. So there's no uniform way to keep track of the accounts of shots fired. 


When asked why, if the numbers obtained by Target 8 were inaccurate, they were they used for training, Belk said it was to stress to his officers the threats they face everyday. 


When asked if he'll continue releasing yearly shooting numbers, the chief said he will when it's appropriate.