Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Columbia County law enforcements officials said Mon., Aug. 28, crime is down and convictions are up countywide. At a meeting of the Hudson Rotary Club, District Attorney Paul Czajka [CHI-kah], Sheriff David Bartlett and Hudson Police Chief L. Edward Moore discussed crime rates and the multi-agency effort to reduce crime. In 2016, there were 1,320 index crimes per 100,000 people in Columbia County, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. Examples of index crimes include murder, rape, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault and arson. The felony conviction rate in Columbia County over the four-year period from 2012 to 2016, was 80 percent, compared to the statewide average of 68 percent. In his presentation, Czajka said he did not want to minimize the recent shootings in the city of Hudson, but noted that overall, incidents of crime in the county are below the state average, and felony conviction rates are on the rise. As a result, he said, Columbia County is “much safer than the rest of New York.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.