BY THE NUMBERSDalton police solved a higher percentage of crimes in 2011 than 2010. The department’s clearance rates are below.Violent crimes• 2010: 41 percent• 2011: 69 percentProperty crimes• 2010: 26 percent• 2011: 40 percentSource: Dalton Police Department
Crime rates climbed in Dalton, Ga., in 2011, but police cleared a higher percentage of those crimes, according to figures from the Dalton Police Department.
During a meeting this week with the Dalton Public Safety Commission, Police Chief Jason Parker outlined year-to-date statistics that include increases in both violent and property crimes.
During the year, Part I crimes — which include homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, aggravated assault, motor vehicle theft and arson — were 5 percent above the first 11 months of 2010, Parker said.
“There are multiple factors [for the increase], but the most obvious is the fact that the economy is so bad,” police spokesman Bruce Frazier said. “Dalton has been hit really hard by that phenomenon. When people lose work, they can get desperate.”