Although it is common for people to think about New Orleans and the surrounding areas as being crime centers, the final tally of reported major crimes in St. Charles parish in 2013 is down 17% from last year. Although there was a slight increase in the number of violent crimes, including murder, rape, and assault, the overall decrease in major crime is encouraging to say the least.
The Sheriff’s Office sends its crime report to the FBI in seven different categories: murder, assault, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, and auto theft. Of these, burglary was down the most, down a staggering 27% from 2012. Robbery, theft, and auto theft were down as well, totaling at a 16.5% decrease from 2012 across all seven categories.
Of these, auto theft is the most easily avoided. Although it is not as severe as some of the other categories which involve personal injury or loss of life, it can nonetheless be dealt with easily. As numbers in the auto theft category are down, it is likely that St. Charles parish citizens are becoming more proactive about locking doors and hiding valuables- two preventative steps that can drastically reduce the likelihood of a car break-in.
Although the numbers on the whole are down, the 5 murders that occurred in 2013 make it the highest in a decade, despite being in the single digits. And although two of the murders remain yet unsolved, Sheriff Greg Champagne has stated that they have strong ideas about potential suspects.
This decrease in crime provides a much needed boost for the city of New Orleans, with the community in hopes that the crime rates will continue to decrease in both residential and commercial districts.
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