DALTON, Ga. — After two suspects were arrested for burglary in late January, a spike of break-ins in the city has begun to taper off, Police Chief Jason Parker says.
While city crime statistics for 2009 show a spike in burglary and theft at the end of the year, authorities believe many of those cases were related to the two men arrested, Chief Parker told city officials Tuesday at a Public Safety Commission meeting.
“We can’t tie every burglary to that case, but burglary has gone down by half,” he said.
PDF: Dalton Police crime statistics
After officers caught Terrance Durden, 21, and a 17-year-old fleeing the scene of a burglary in progress on Jan. 28, similar crimes have decreased, officials say.
The increase in burglaries was the most alarming numbers from last year’s statistics, Chief Parker said.
Overall, crime has decreased in the city, the statistics show. Overall, Part 1 offenses, which include murder, rape and robbery, were at their lowest numbers since 2000, he said.
In 2009, 1,375 violent crimes were reported in Dalton. That’s compared to 2000, when 2,143 offenses were reported, statistics show.
One factor contributing to the decrease is changing his department’s tactic to become more proactive in the city, Chief Parker said.
“We try to concentrate on people we believe are repeating (crimes),” he said.
Since 2005, the police department has worked with more than 450 residents who were believed to have a family member involved in gang activity, he said.
Another contributing factor could be the neighborhood policing program that began this summer, he said. Officers are assigned to neighborhoods and work to build relationships with the residents, said Officer Nathan Pressley, head of the neighborhood policing program.
“Most encounters with the police are not pleasant,” Officer Pressley said. “This gives us more positive interaction with the community that they may never have had.”
Officers also can alert locals to crime trends that can be prevented, he said.
For instance, when Dalton had several daytime burglaries, Officer Pressley said he was able to send an e-mail alerting residents in his area to keep their garage doors closed and property locked.
“The ultimate goal is to better our communication with the community,” he said.