The number of Top 10 criminal offenses in Hattiesburg has decreased seven percent from 2019 to 2020 ,during the first nine months in both years, police department officials and Mayor Toby Barker announced at a news conference Monday.
Meanwhile, the number of vehicle burglaries – coupled with weapons thefts – has increased.
The 10 crimes that were tracked as Part 1 felony crime categories included homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, commercial burglary, residential burglary, grand larceny, auto theft, and arson, Maj. Hardy Sims said during the presentation.
“As we analyze individual crimes, we know we've had a decrease in homicides, residential burglaries, grand larceny, auto burglaries, auto thefts,” he said. “But, we also understand, we've had an increase in aggravated assaults and commercial burglaries. The breakdown of our numbers show we've had two less homicides. But at the same time we've had 31 more aggravated assaults, compared to the same period last year.”
Sims said reasons for the increases in some crime tracking include the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic because of increases in domestic violence and similar assaults.
“Most people's stress and anxiety levels increase with the loss of jobs, and the stay-at-home mandates. All these conditions contribute to an increase in certain crimes,” he said. “But, we feel with all certainty that things will eventually get better. We will get through these troubling times.”
Assistant Chief Peggy Sealy outlined the No. 1 burglary category is auto burglaries, which usually increase during summer months. She said 291 incidents were reported in apartment complexes.
“Of the total, 275 vehicles were left unlocked,” she said. “What's more disturbing is 75 weapons were stolen from these unmarked vehicles. These weapons could potentially be used in a crime. That is one reason we rolled out our campaign, ‘Park Smarter.’ We encourage people to remove their valuables, especially guns.”
Capt. Branden McLemore said the department is investigating two unsolved homicides, as officers try to get information from citizens on the activities.
“Come forward and help us gain the evidence needed to prosecute these individuals. Those are some things that people don't understand,” he said. “When we go after the individuals responsible for these crimes, we have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these individuals committed these crimes.”
McLemore said choosing a different charge for prosecuting who was responsible for a crime could lead to federal prosecution through Project EJECT.
“It may be Project EJECT or the state prosecution where we can actually charge them and get the family the justice they need,” he said. “Another positive are the direct ties into one of our biggest pushes to help curb this type of violence. We did an operation last week with Project EJECT, and that was where several of those individuals were key arrests in homicide, armed robbery, or any of those incidents that we felt that a gun violence was utilized. We basically prosecuted them on the federal level and that included the state prosecutors as well, trying to curb this violence that's on the street.”
Mayor Barker complimented the police department on its performance to fight criminal activity in the city.
“We have the very best when it comes to police departments,” he said. “The progress we have made this year is because of the hard work of our men and women in uniform, detectives, traffic, and specialized units. However, Hattiesburg is safer when the community sees itself as an equal partner and equal stakeholders.”
Barker stressed the success of the Hattiesburg Police Department getting important information from the city’s residents.
“Families in Hattiesburg are still grieving and looking for justice,” he said. “So, there's no reason not to share information; this is your community. … We're also giving this update because an informed community prepares itself to be a safer community.”
Barker said residents can bring anonymous information with a phone call to 601-582-STOP.