Snellville Crime Inches Up in 2011

Entering 2011 with its lowest levels of serious crime in eight years, the finished the year with an increase -- the highest in two years.

These serious crimes, also known as Part 1 crimes, increased 10.4 percent over the past year, from 788 incidents to 871 incidents.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation describes Part 1 crimes as the most-violent crimes against persons and property. They include: arson, aggravated assault, burglary, homicide, larceny, auto theft, rape and robbery.

(See the attached documents for all Part 1 crime totals.)

"Overall, our crime rate is still below levels seen in 2005," said , alluding to the 1,001 Part 1 crimes that year -- the highest number in recent years. "We are very cognizant of all crimes that occur and do everything we can to prevent crime, which is our number one goal.

Crime Against Property

Crimes against property -- arson, burglary, larceny and auto theft -- trumped those against people, with 843 incidents last year. There were a total of 757 such crimes in 2010.

Burglaries saw the largest increase, with a 30 percent jump over the previous year. The chief acknowledged the increase, but said at least eight of those burglaries happened in one neighborhood over a two-month period.

"Our investigators went out and processed the scene and recovered a latent lift that led to the identity of one of the suspects," he said. "The investigation continued until two arrests were made and warrants issued for two more suspects. 

"We recovered property and identified 22 more burglaries in the unincorporated area attributable to this same group. We cleared other burglaries, as well."

Larcenies -- which claims the highest number of incidents at 739 -- increased by 9 percent over the previous year. Chief Whitehead said the main reason for this was shoplifting in Snellville. There were 38 more shoplifting cases reported, representing 61 percent of the larceny increase. 

"In most shopliftings," he added, "an arrest has occurred when the crime is reported."

Other property crime trends include: two arsons (one more over the previous year) and two auto thefts down from four.

Crimes Against Persons

In addition to property crimes, aggravated assault -- a crime against persons -- also saw an increase in 2011, but by four incidents.

As a whole, however, crimes against persons dropped from 31 incidents in 2010 to 28 incidents in 2011. Homicides in the city of Snellville remained zero, and over the past decade there have only been four.

"We have two in the history of the city that haven’t been cleared, but we work them continuously," Whitehead said about homicides. "We expect one to be resolved shortly and will continue to work the other one until it is cleared as well."

In 2011, rape remained steady at two incidents. The most significant change in crimes against persons were robberies, which decreased from 21 to 14 incidents.

"This is a significant reduction and attributable I think to the number of arrests we made in these cases," Whitehead said.

Other Incidents

Despite the slight increase in serious crimes, Snellville, police officers were extra busy too, making arrests. There were some 2,255 arrests made in the city, over 1,868 arrests in 2010. That's a difference of 387.

"There are many factors that lead to this increase, most notable are the increases in warrants served,  D.U.I. and drug related arrests," Whitehead said. "This generally comes from self-initiated activity by officers on patrol."

In addition, city police officers handled 65,909 calls for service in 2011, an increase of 4,023 calls. Traffic citations and traffic accidents reduced, but there were two traffic fatalities in 2011.

"As a result, we do expend resources on traffic enforcement in an effort to reduce serious injuries and fatalities," Whitehead said. "Traffic enforcement can impact this. In addition, studies continually show that active traffic enforcement helps to reduce crime."

What You Can Do

Although Snellville police continue to monitoring activity and adjust resources accordingly to address areas of concern, police say the public should be involved to prevent crime. 

"Citizens must report suspicious activity and any activity out of the ordinary," Whitehead said. "If they have information, we implore them to share it with us.

"There are many mechanisms in place that allow interaction and, where the citizen chooses, can be anonymous."

Ways to stay involved include:

• Monitor police activity by looking at "Snellville Crime Reports" online. The link is on the bottom of the city web page, www.snellville.org
• Sign up for "Tip Soft," which allows citizens to send information in real time, or Nixle to receive alerts
• Watch the department's Facebook page for crime tips and activities
• Use the anonymous tip line at 770-985-7212 (not monitored 24 hours a day)
• Call dispatch at 770-985-3555 (you can be anonymous if you request)
• E-mail the police department, including Chief Roy Whitehead, directly. He can be reached at rwhitehead@snellville.org.