Crime statistics for 2014 have been released by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. With a total of 629 Part 1 crimes during the year, Sheriff Barry Babb said those numbers represent an overall 6 percent reduction over 2013.
Part 1 crimes are more serious in nature and are divided into violent crimes and property crimes. Violent crimes include homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crimes include burglary, theft, vehicle theft and theft of items from vehicles.
Property crimes accounted for 93 percent of Part 1 crimes during 2014 with the remaining 7 percent coming as violent crimes.
Of the violent crimes, there were three rapes, eight robberies and 32 cases of aggravated assault.
Of the property crimes, 180 were burglaries, 160 were theft of items from vehicles, 214 were other thefts and 32 were stolen vehicles.
It was noteworthy that of the property crimes, 31 of the offenses were committed by an Atlanta man during July 20-23. The man was subsequently arrested.
The sheriff’s office breaks the county into several zones. Part 1 crimes in the annual report are then listed by zones. Taken by zone, the largest number of Part 1 crimes occurred in Zone 3 that includes a relatively small section of northeast Fayette.
A breakdown of Part 1 crimes by zone shows:
• Zone 1, northwest Fayette — 114 Part 1 crimes
• Zone 2, a much smaller area of north central Fayette — 100 Part 1 crimes
• Zone 3, a small area encompassing northeast Fayette — 162 Part 1 crimes
• Zone 4, southwest Fayette — 103 Part 1 crimes
• Zone 5, southeast Fayette — 120 Part 1 crimes
Part 1 crimes are also tracked by the days of the week and times of day they occur. The day and time of a number of crimes are unknown since some crimes, such as burglaries and their reporting, span more than one day.
The greatest number of Part 1 crimes during 2014, a total of 87, occurred on Wednesdays with 79 occurring on Fridays. Accounting for the remainder of the week, Thursdays represent a low of 47 while Tuesdays had 64.
The tally showed a total of 175 crimes for which the day of the week was unknown.
As for the time of day, the report showed that day watch has the highest incidence of Part 1 crimes, accounting for 38 percent. Babb said most crimes on day watch occurred during the afternoon between noon and 6 p.m.
A time grid analysis showed a higher concentration of crimes occurring on Sundays during the 1 a.m. hour and on Tuesdays during the 11 p.m. hour.
The sheriff’s office reported an increase in the number of DUI arrests in the past three years. DUI numbers totaled 114 in 2012 and increase to 151 in 2013 and 250 in 2014.
Commenting on the increased number of DUI arrests, Babb said officers were “asked to work harder and they are. It may not be that there are more DUI drivers, we’re just getting better at being diligent in locating them.”
Babb said topping the list of DUI arrests is investigator and drug recognition expert Robert Kersey who accounted for 63 of the 250 arrests.
