Robberies up 50 percent in 2010

Published 11:13 pm Friday, March 4, 2011

Crimes reported between 2009 and 2010 in Tift County show that there has been a significant increase with some Part One crimes — robbery as high as 50 percent.

Maj. Bobby Brannen with the Tift County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that the TCSO has to submit data monthly of reported crimes to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He said that entered data shows in their system at the time it is reported to them within that month. He noted that as far as arson cases, they have to submit a supplemental report to the GBI.

Brannen said the GBI’s database is called a “live” database because it constantly updates. Therefore, a crime that was committed in the month of March but wasn’t reported to the TCSO until May will show up as a reported crime in May. However, once they submit the information to the GBI, the crime will show up in March, the month that the incident occurred. Brannen noted that this is the best way to explain why the numbers from their system may differ from the GBI database.

The following reported Part One crimes in the county for 2009 and 2010 include homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assaults, burglary, larceny theft and vehicle theft.

• Homicide – In 2009, three homicides were reported and one was reported in 2010; a 6 percent decrease.

• Forcible rape – In 2009, 10 rapes were reported and seven were reported in 2010; a 19 percent decrease.

• Robbery – In 2009, 22 robberies were reported with the highest being in August and 33 were reported in 2010 with the highest being in July; a 50 percent increase.

• Aggravated assaults – In 2009, 49 aggravated assaults were reported with the highest number being in March, August and November, and 64 were reported in 2010 with the highest being in August; a 28 percent increase.

• Burglary – In 2009, 218 burglaries were reported with the highest month being in December and 263 were reported in 2010 with the highest month being in September; a 20.64 percent increase.

• Larceny theft – In 2009, 511 larceny thefts were reported with the highest being in April and 519 were reported in 2010 with the highest being in July; a 1.56 percent increase.

• Vehicle theft – In 2009, 49 vehicle thefts were reported with the highest being in February and July, and 52 were reported in 2010 with the highest being in May; a 6.12 percent increase.

Brannen noted that some reported crimes are deemed “unfounded,” which means a crime was determined untrue after further investigation (the calculated number of reported crimes provided in the article, however, excludes any “unfounded” crimes).

Brannen said at times, numbers do spike in some areas of Part One crimes. He said property crimes have been around forever and drugs figure into this. He said some robberies start off one way and lead another way.

“At times you unfortunately get ‘bad’ crimes,” Brannen reported. “No one has all the answers. If we did, we would have hopefully fixed the problems a long time ago.”

Brannen stated that Neighborhood Watch is one of the best ways to help prevent and decrease crime.

“If people look after one another and report suspicious activity, then that would help put us ahead of the game to get something done,” Brannen said. “I would rather people be safe than sorry. It doesn’t cost anything to have one of us come out and check on anything that’s suspicious.”

Brannen said sometimes in the case of a residential burglary, people don’t call 911 because they don’t want to be involved, or they think that it’s a family member or friend looking after the place while the neighbor is away. He said sometimes this is the case with the latter, but it’s still better to be safe than sorry.

Brannen noted that numerous residential burglaries are occurring during daylight.

“It’s been that way for years,” Brannen said. “Typically, both parents are at work and the kids are in school, and the neighbors don’t think anything will happen during the day. That’s why criminals break into homes during that time. Sometimes you may have one person involved and sometimes you may have multiples.”

Brannen said the TCSO had three recent reports of residential burglaries by three offenders during daylight in one day. He stated that one occurred between noon and 2 p.m., one at 2:30 p.m., and one around 5:30 p.m. He said three men were arrested, but they could only prove that they committed one of the burglaries; they felt the men committed all three.

“If something doesn’t look right, call 911 and we will come; the TPD will come,” Brannen said. “We will find out the best way we can to solve the problem.”

Brannen stated that it’s sad that the older population are victimized as much as they are.

“It’s because they’re very trusting, vulnerable and are not as sharp as they used to be — if we live as long as God sees fit, we won’t be either — but for people to take advantage of them and to victimize them, you can’t justify it.”

Brannen advised that people should be aware that just because you ignore a knock at your door from a suspicious person, doesn’t mean they will always go away.

“If you don’t know the person at your door, call 911,” Brannen stated. “If you ignore the knock, that person may just kick in the door because he thinks you’re not home. Then, we have a confrontation and it won’t end well.”

Also, Brannen advised that people should record their major electronic devices’ serial number, brand, make and model in case they are stolen. He said this way, if people’s items are stolen, he can easily enter the information into the Georgia Crime Information Center. In case someone’s stolen property is recovered, the serial number will help identify which stolen property exactly belongs to who. Brannen noted that without this information, it’s hard to determine which items go to who, and in some cases, they have had to decline giving away any stolen property because three televisions of the same model may have been recovered, but which one goes to who? If a serial number is provided by the owner, the decision would be obvious.

“Unfortunately, people don’t have that information,” Brannen said. “It’s different when a bad guy confesses to what he stole and where he got it from. In this case, we can give the property back to who it belongs to, but not all guys will talk.”

Brannen also suggested that when things don’t have a serial number or model, take a photograph or video of them. He said people may be able to give very good descriptions of their stolen property, but a picture or video gives an exact visual. He said with jewelry, a lot of items look similar to one another, so a photograph or video would come in handy as well as an appraisal on valuable items.

Brannen has been in law enforcement since he was 18 and has been with the TCSO for 35 years. He said he hopes in good health to do 15 more years at the TCSO, retiring at 69.  

“I think I have the best job in the world,” Brannen said. “I work with the best guys and girls here. I wish I could say we’re perfect and that we solve every crime, but I live in the real world. There are awful things going on. If only we could live like the good old days, but when we did, we didn’t know what we had.”

To contact reporter Latasha Everson, call 382-4321.