Gwinnett County Crime in 2011

(Editor's Note: The following article is taken from a press release from Gwinnett County government.)

Gwinnett’s crime rate in nine major categories dropped in 2011 compared to the previous year, according to figures released Thursday by the Gwinnett County Police Department. The average response time to emergencies in the first six months of 2011 also dropped from almost seven minutes to less than five and a half.

Highlights of 2011

Highlights include: 4 percent fewer arson incidents, 20 percent fewer vehicle thefts, 17 percent fewer rapes and 20 percent fewer cases of theft from a motor vehicle. There were also decreases in robberies, residential burglaries and aggravated battery. Aggravated assaults fell almost 9 percent while business burglaries were down about 4 percent. The total number of gang-related incidents fell almost 5 percent.

There were a total of , up from 20 in 2010. Of the homicides, 10 were domestic-related, five were drug-related, five involved robbery, three were police-involved shootings and one was an unknown situation. Almost 88 percent of these homicides have been cleared, and investigators have strong leads in several of the still unsolved cases.

Police Chief Pleased

Gwinnett Police Chief Charles Walters said, “Of course I’m pleased to report these results, which are in line with trends we’ve seen since 2009.

"We were fortunate to be able to hire and graduate 54 new officers nearly two years ago that brought our staff to the full authorized level about this time last year.”

The department recently hired 28 new police recruits to fill vacant positions, and the new Police Academy class started on Nov. 30.

He pointed out that violent crimes in Gwinnett are down 21 percent in the past two years, compared with a 5 percent drop statewide. Property crime was down 6 percent compared to a statewide drop of just two-tenths of 1 percent.

County Police Budget

Walters said he will not fill a total of 25 police positions that are currently vacant in order to cut $1.4 million out of the 2012 budget. He requested no new personnel, no new vehicles and will defer replacing 37 percent of the vehicles that would normally be replaced next year. The department cut another $12,000 in maintenance costs at its headquarters and precinct buildings.