In his annual crime report to the Tyrone Town Council on Feb. 1, Tyrone Police Chief Brandon Perkins provided statistics showing the town experienced a 25 percent decrease in the most serious crimes during 2012.
A main facet of the annual report dealt with crime statistics. Those statistics include Part 1 and Part 2 crimes. Part 1 crimes include more serious offenses such as murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, theft and arson. Part 2 crimes include offenses such as fraud, forgery, stolen property, weapons charges, drug charges, gambling, domestic violence, DUI and disorderly conduct.
Perkins said 2012 saw a 25 percent decrease in Part 1 crimes compared to 2011 although there was an increase in burglaries during the year.
“In 2013 we are requiring more frequent patrols of neighborhoods and increased traffic enforcement in historically problematic areas as part of our efforts to decrease burglaries and other crimes,” Perkins said.
Pertaining to Part 2 crimes, Perkins said the town saw a 2 percent increase in those crimes during 2012. The increase was attributed to a rise in fraud, forgery and vandalism, he said.
One of the issues addressed by Perkins was the concern by some that Tyrone is a speed trap.
“We’ve heard this assumption a lot over the years, but it is simply not the case,” Perkins said, noting that an agency must generate the equivalent of 40 percent of its operating budget from speeding tickets where the speed is less than 17 miles per hour over the speed limit to be legally defined as a speed trap. “We generated the equivalent of 1.6 percent of our operating budget from speeding violations of 17 miles per hour over the limit or less and only an equivalent of 20 percent of all fines collected for traffic violations.”
Tyrone officers in 2012 issued 1,910 citations, a 5.45 percent decrease from 2011. Officers issued 2,215 warnings in 2012 compared to the 2,200 issued in 2011. The year also saw a 29.63 percent decrease in DUI arrests while the town had a 13.91 percent increase in traffic accidents. There were no traffic fatalities in either 2011 or 2012, said Perkins.
Noting traffic stops, Perkins said that while officers do stop a lot of vehicles, 53 percent of those stops in the past two years resulted in a written warning being issued.
Reporting on traffic accidents in the town during 2012, Perkins said Ga. Highway 74 continues to be the top accident location with 60 collisions during the year followed by Senoia Road with 13, Tyrone Palmetto Road with 8, Castlewood Road with 6 and Dogwood Trail with 5 accidents.
And contributing to those accidents, Perkins said 38 came after the driver was following too close, 18 involved an object or animal, 16 were related to a failure to yield, 14 dealt with improper backing and 6 occurred when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Perkins said Tyrone officers completed a total of 1,359 hours of training during 2012. That training accounts for an average of approximately 80 hours of training per officer, Perkins said, adding that the total training acquired represents a 26 percent increase from 2011.
