Jackson Free Press

Major crimes rose slightly last week in Jackson, with a drop in violent crime offset by a rise in property crimes, especially house burglaries. According to statistics released at a Jackson Police Department command staff meeting this morning, patrol officers reported 21 violent crimes last week, down from 36 the previous week, and 186 property crimes, up from 158 the week before. Those figures are consistent with recent trends: For the year to date, violent crime is down 10.8 percent over 2008, while property crime is up 0.9 percent.

The most dramatic spike in house burglaries occurred in South Jackson's Precinct 1, which recently received a new commander, Donald Gater. Precinct 1 officers reported 40 house burglaries last week, up from 19 the week before. Gater told JPD command staff that the majority of his precinct's house burglaries occurred on weekdays, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. For the year to date, Precinct 1 has seen a 14.9 percent increase in house burglaries over 2008.

Auto burglaries are the only other property-crime category showing a year-to-date increase, with this year's figures rising 5.5 percent above last year's. Last week, officers reported 48 auto burglaries, an increase of one over the previous week. Northeast Jackson's Precinct 4, which has seen a 14.7 percent drop in overall crime for the year, reported 24 auto burglaries, the most of any precinct. Commander Kenneth Goodrum told command staff that most of those incidents took place Wednesday and Thursday nights, especially in several gated apartment complexes along Old Canton Road.

Jackson Crime Report for the week ending Nov. 15