Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte contends newly-released numbers show more deputies equals fewer crimes.

Korte offered the figures Monday (Jan. 11) amid ongoing budget talks in which the prospect of cutting a deputy’s position has been discussed.

Korte’s analysis compares two 20-month periods. The first was from May 2009 to December 2010, when the department had nine deputies. The second was from January 2014 through August 2015, when there were 11 deputies.

Korte said that when he had more personnel, reported burglaries dropped by two-thirds, assaults were nearly cut in half and there were almost six times fewer stealing calls. In addition, the number of narcotics charges doubled.

The sheriff argues the numbers show that proactive enforcement combined with a larger staff aided in reducing crime.

No specific proposal to cut a deputy’s position has been made, but a deadline is looming. The county’s 2016 budget must be approved by the end of January.