(The Center Square) — The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Department has seen an overall decrease in property and violent crime over the last ten years.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting database has tracked offense numbers based on what’s reported by law enforcement agencies across the country.
In October 2014, violent crime in Caddo Parish was at its highest mark in the last decade with 72 such offenses. The averages steadily decreased to about 20 to 40 violent crimes per month in 2018 with occasional upticks.
That was until 2019 when from April to December no violent offenses were reported in the parish. The FBI says little or no data may be the result of an agency not participating, reporting zero incidents, changes in reporting, or being “covered by” another agency.
For the parish, 2019 was a marker year and not just because COVID-19 followed. The number of violent crimes reported reached 30 in a month only once more, in September 2021. The average has stayed steady since then, and violent crimes haven’t reached 20 in one month since January 2023.
Property crime, on a month to month basis, is lower after a similar 2019 break than before. Offenses of this nature were still reported, unlike with violent offenses, but the year before COVID-19 still saw the lowest marks by far.
Post 2019 still sees highs in the 70s like in the 2010s when 70 was the average month. However, the average month in Caddo is in the mid 50s and November 2023 dipped into the 20s for the first time since 2019.
Across Louisiana, reported property crimes have generally decreased since 2014, but so has the percent of population covered, meaning agencies and or areas that report to this database. Violent crime has maintained about the same monthly averages with slightly lower peaks.
A violent offense includes murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault and intimidation.
Property crimes are burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.
