The number of burglaries on the Observer’s Crime Map for December was so low it looked like a misprint: just eleven in the entire month, compared to seventy-nine in December 2012. It’s vivid proof of the old adage that crooks stay home in bad weather–January’s total (see p. 21) is also down. But there’s more at work than a hard winter. “We look at what are called Part One crimes,” says police chief John Seto–including murder, assault, robbery, and burglary–“and 2013’s were down near 2011’s, which were the lowest ever.”

In a small city like Ann Arbor, month-to-month figures can fluctuate wildly–but five-year comparisons confirm the downward trend. From 2003 to 2008, the city averaged 3,429 Part One crimes per year. From 2009 to 2013, it averaged 3,028.

“B&Es are the lowest they’ve ever been,” reports mayor John Hieftje. “They’re down because the police arrested the perpetrators and put them in jail.”

“Arresting people has a significant impact when one person commits multiple crimes,” Seto explains. In ten arrests last year, the department picked up eighteen suspects linked to at least forty in-town B&Es.

Seto says they did it with “good old-fashioned police work, officers digging in and making connections.” That, and CSI Ann Arbor: “Our officers are gathering more evidence which is leading to more arrests–more fingerprints, footprints, DNA, things like that,” Seto says. “Because better tech is available, and we’re getting better at using it.”