SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County Sheriff's Office said county wide there was a 13 percent drop in property crimes over the last year.

• New substation near Loop 1604 and Highway 90
• 13 percent crime drop in the past year
• Facility has safe exchange zones

Overall crime dropped about 8.5 percent. Officials credit the decrease to their proactive work and the opening of their new substations.

The new Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Southwest Substation is located by Loop 1604 and Highway 90. On the five acres of land there are workstations for sergeants, roll call briefing rooms, equipment rooms, and office space. The facility is also open to the public. The parking lot includes safe exchange zones for online transactions or custody exchanges.

The goal for county officials was to help the deputies patrol and build greater community relations with nearby residents.

"We're right in a growing area of the city. We also did a substation in the northeast part of town," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. "So we're able to get the law enforcement closer to areas that they patrol."

"These substations allow us to spread our manpower more evenly and it's going to absolutely help with response time," said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.