In 2017, Gorham police officers responded to 14,791 calls for service, made 218 arrests, issued 229 criminal/ civil summons, and investigated 556 traffic accidents. They arrested 98 impaired drivers, a decrease from 121 in 2016.

The statistics below reflect decreases in all but one major crime category (robbery) and there were only two reported robberies in 2017. Burglaries decreased from 58 in 2015 to 13 in 2017. There were a number of car burglaries in 2015 and 2016 but following the arrests of several people who were believed to be responsible for the majority of those thefts, the number for both home and auto burglaries, decreased to 13 in 2017.

The terms burglary, theft and robbery are sometimes confused. Burglary refers to entering a building or vehicle with the intent to commit a crime; to steal from that property. Theft refers to taking someone’s valuables without the use of force and the thief does not need to enter a property to steal the valuables. Robbery refers to using, or threatening to use, force to take someone’s valuables.

In 2015, there were 61 domestic violence calls. These dropped to 43 in 2016 and 19 in 2017. Lt. Michael Nault noted that the department has been very proactive in dealing with domestic violence and has worked with Through these Doors, formerly Family Crisis, for the past few years to assist people who have experienced domestic violence. An advocate/liaison is assigned in each case and the advocate follows up with court appearances which has been very effective in supporting and following the victims through the process.