photo by: Joselyn King (file)

Wheeling Police Deputy Chief Josh Sanders, left, and Chief Shawn Schwertfeger attend a recent Ohio County Board of Education meeting.

WHEELING — The city of Wheeling saw its lowest crime rates in a decade in 2024 – and the numbers only improved in 2025.

According to data released Thursday morning by the Wheeling Police Department, crime rates declined even further from 2024 to 2025, as did drug overdoses and overdose deaths, both of which saw a precipitous drop.

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger credited a broad effort in that improvement — from the department to its partners to the rest of the community — and said the mission is to make those numbers even better in 2026.

“We’re very excited,” Schwertfeger said Thursday. “This is very good stuff.”

Crimes in both serious crime and less-serious crime categories dropped 14% from 2024, according to the data. Major crime numbers that fell last year included robberies (down 59%), motor vehicle theft (down 58%), burglary (down 24%), assaults (down 19%) and larceny/thefts (down 15%).

Drug overdoses and deaths also saw significant declines from 2024 to 2025. Deaths fell 36% from 14 in 2024 to nine in 2025, while overdoses fell 24% from 114 in 2024 to 87 in 2025.

Schwertfeger said the two-year data is even more impressive, showing a 25% drop in serious crime, a 21% drop in less-serious crime and a 61% drop in overdoses.

The police chief applauded the work of his officers and staff in helping reduce crime in Wheeling, but also attributed it to improved communications between his department and other city departments like code enforcement. Schwertfeger said the flow of information between those departments is better than ever and makes a difference in fighting crime.

Schwertfeger said the West Virginia First Foundation has provided crucial funding for police work in the scope of fighting the opioid epidemic and First Choice Solutions in Charleston, which runs the 988 helpline and many others, has been essential to the cause.

The chief also tipped his cap to the many Wheeling residents who have provided information and support over the years. Neighborhood crime watch meetings have been a great tool in Wheeling police work, he said, so much that a new downtown/business crime watch group is coming in 2026.

“It’ll be businesses from 10th Street to Centre Market, and Water Street to Chapline,” Schwertfeger said. “We’re focusing … on businesses. We want to bring those folks in now that the streetscape is done, and we want to hear from them, provide them with some tips on how to make sure that their businesses are safe.”

Schwertfeger is especially proud of the major drop in overdoses and overdose deaths, especially considering the numbers were at all-time highs in 2021. That year, there were 210 overdoses and 28 deaths. In 2025, there were 87 overdoses and nine deaths. That marked the first time since 2016 that there were fewer than 100 overdoses in Wheeling in a year and the first time since 2017 that overdose deaths were in the single digits for a year.

Schwertfeger said those improvements have come not just from enforcement, but also from prevention and diversion. He mentioned a situation he ran into on W.Va. 2, where he stopped his car there to talk to someone walking along the highway. As he was talking to the man, he found a loaded needle in his pocket.

“And we had a heart to heart, and he was interested in getting help,” Schwertfeger said. “So I seized the drugs and I transported him to Northwood. … If a diversion is something that will help him, another misdemeanor citation is not going to do him a damn bit of good, right?

“We still hold people accountable,” he added, “but we’re looking to help.”

Schwertfeger also praised his Crisis Response Unit, a unit of the department that provides around-the-clock support for people and families experiencing mental-health emergencies, substance-use issues, or homelessness. Two of the unit members are embedded peers who work directly with those in distress.

According to Schwertfeger, the Crisis Response Unit — the first of its kind in West Virginia when it was created — was able to get 18 people into treatment in 2025.

“That’s 18 people that aren’t breaking into a car, trespassing in a vacant structure, selling, using, buying drugs,” Schwertfeger said. “There are many factors, but that is a huge one as to why we’re seeing reduction in crime.”

As far as how the WPD will try to improve crime numbers in 2026, Schwertfeger said much of it will come from continuing what has worked – effective communication with other departments, relying on WPD analysts to pinpoint areas of concern in Wheeling and building on the work of the Crisis Response Unit. On top of the new downtown/business crime watch group, he also wants to continue filling vacancies within the department.

“We do have a young department,” Schwertfeger said, “so we need to continue improving our skill sets and continue to do other things that we’ve already seen that are successful.”