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Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

Local crime down overall in 2009, but up in key areas

Even in the midst of a harsh economic year, Macon police and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office are reporting that crime is down so far in 2009.

Although conventional wisdom might suggest that reports of crime would spike as people’s wallets got thinner, criminologists and sociologists say crime often drops when there’s a dour economy and people are out of work and pinching pennies, said Charles Weston, a Mercer University criminal justice professor and former Bibb County district attorney.

“A bad economy doesn’t always lead to a lot of crime,” he said.

Crime is not down in every category. But Macon police statistics show that overall crime reported through Nov. 9 is down about 10 percent from the same period last year. In fact, the city is on course for 2009 to have the lowest number of reported crimes since the department started tracking the records in 1994, Police Chief Mike Burns said.

Bibb Chief Deputy David Davis said overall crime levels in the county though September have been about 3 percent less than last year. The sheriff’s office declined to release detailed crime statistics, saying that they would be available in early 2010.

Statistics show Macon has experienced an 11 percent decrease in burglaries so far this year, for example, from 1,745 in 2008 to 1,548 so far this year. And reports of auto thefts are down by about 150 cases so far in 2009 from last year.

Weston said it’s possible that the drops could be partly the result of the recession.

With jobless or part-time workers staying home more, burglars have less of an opportunity to break into houses. Consumers also aren’t going out and spending as much money on valuable items that thieves would want to steal, he said.

Police Sgt. Keith Woodford said a good number of the burglaries in Macon are committed by juveniles, however, who aren’t as affected by the downturn in the economy as adults.

While Davis said reports of burglaries in Bibb County are about the same so far in 2009 as they were in 2008, he said deputies are seeing more reports of people stealing from the homes of their friends, acquaintances and family members.

In Macon, the number of thefts and car break-ins also have dropped this year, according to statistics.

Weston said it’s also possible the statistics could be affected by such things as Maconites’ shifting the hours when they run errands and shop in recent months after hearing about violent crime.

“They’re shopping in the daytime,” he said.

As a result, people aren’t at as much risk for certain robberies and other crimes, Weston said.

Bibb County, though, is seeing an increase in car break-ins and thefts of global positioning devices, Davis said.

He attributed the increase of about 30 car break-ins in part to the growing number of shopping centers and residential areas in north Bibb County.

“But people also are leaving things of value in view” in their cars, Davis said.

Deputies have received 43 reports of stolen GPS devices so far in 2009, compared with 40 in all of 2008.

Davis said it’s possible some of the GPS thefts and a growing number of TV thefts could be due to desperate people grabbing things that are easy to sell. Deputies have received 156 reports of stolen TVs so far this year, compared with 117 in all of 2008.

Robberies and aggravated assaults have dropped so far in 2009 in Bibb County, while the number of rapes has remained the same, Davis said.

Four homicides were reported in the first eight months of 2009, compared with one in the same time period in 2008.

So far this year, Macon has seen eight more robberies and two more homicides than were reported in the first 10 months of 2008. Reports of rape are down by 13 and aggravated assaults are down by 152 reports, according to police statistics.

Burns attributed the increase in robberies to 33 more street robberies and six more purse snatchings than the same period in 2008.

Burns credits the special operations and task forces launched in 2009 and the related increased patrol car visibility for much of the decrease in reported crime.

“(Would-be criminals) never know where we’re going to be, when we’re going to be there or how many of us there will be,” he said. “We keep everybody off guard.”

Burns said the police department is preparing to start the annual holiday task force along with Citizens on Patrol and the Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Agency.

The goal is to increase officers’ visibility by riding through parking lots and talking with businesses.

“We want it to be a safe holiday season,” Burns said.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.