July has been a good-news month so far for Cape Coral residents.

Not only has the Lee County Property Appraisers Office notified the city that for the first time since 2007 the Cape has seen a slight bump in overall property valuation, numbers show the city’s crime rate has dipped.

Both violent and non-violent crimes are down as compared to 2011’s mid-year stats with officials confirming that violent crimes – homicides, manslaughters, sex offenses, aggravated assaults and robberies – are the lowest level they have been in more than 10 years.

Officials credit the decline to a number of things including new regulations concerning the sale of scrap metal, good training and rapid response from everyone from dispatch to the boots on the street, solid investigative skills and forensic followup, and a vigilant citizenry.

We agree- we have a good, pro-active police force from the top to the rank-and-file and they should be commended because such accomplishment has not been easily achieved.

Public safety numbers have declined, as have employee numbers across all city departments with fewer people asked to “do more with less,” a popular political mantra that rarely includes the “how.”

Our police department has shown how it’s done.

– Breeze editorial