Murder rate up 44 percent in Jefferson Parish in 2016

While New Orleans has received the lion’s share of media attention regarding a sharp rise in violent crime, the latest stats released by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office show that the murder rate in that parish is up 44 percent over the first five months of 2016 compared to the same period last year.

According to JPSO officials, there were 13 homicides committed over the first five months of 2016, compared with nine murders over the same period last year.

Rapes also rose sharply in Jefferson Parish over the first five months of 2016, officials reported. There were 43 rapes reported over the first fire months of 2016 compared to 24 over the same period last year.

Despite those troubling statistics, JPSO officials reported that overall crime is down in Jefferson Parish in 2016, thanks to drops in the number of assaults, burglaries, thefts and auto thefts.

There was only a miniscule rise in the number of robberies over the first five months of 2016. JPSO officials investigated 148 robberies over the first five months of 2016 compared to 147 over the first five months of 2015.

The JPSO statistics, released last week, show that there were 5,352 incidents in the seven major crime categories reported in unincorporated Jefferson Parish over the first five months of 2016, compared with 5,537 during the same period last year.

There were 449 assaults reported over the first five months of 2016, compared with 503 reported during the same period last year.

There were 121 fewer burglaries reported over the first five months of 2016 (602), compared with 723 reported during that same period in 2015.

There were 31 fewer hefts reported over the first five months of 2016 (3,791), compared with 3,822 over the same period last year.

This article originally published in the June 20, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.