Crime down 10 percent in unincorporated Jefferson Parish for 2017 - NOLA.com

Crime in unincorporated Jefferson Parish was down 10 percent in 2017 when compared to 2016, a new record low, according to statistics released Monday (Feb. 5) by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

That's the lowest overall crime number since the Sheriff's Office began keeping such records in 1974, according to JPSO.

The figures do not include the municipalities of Kenner, Harahan, Westwego, Gretna, Grand Isle and Jean Lafitte.

Last year, deputies responded to 11,471 reports of crimes that fall into the seven major categories reported annually to the FBI: murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft and auto theft.

Overall crime has been on the decline since 2013, the last time the Sheriff's Office reported a spike in illegal activities.

The Sheriff's Office noted dips in every crime category except rape, which was up 39 percent with 92 sexual assaults reported in 2017. Statistics related to increases and decreases in rape cases can be difficult to gauge, since increases sometimes indicate that more rape victims are coming forward to report assaults, not necessarily that more rapes are occurring.

The year began with a triple murder and a quadruple murder - both in Metairie. Still, investigators handled 31 homicides last year, a 30 percent decrease from 2016.

Aside from homicides, the largest decreases were recorded in the number of thefts and burglaries, down 12 and 10 percent, respectively.

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