Crime stops at nothing, but Onslow County law enforcement is reporting a recent uptick in several categories, including one that’s especially abnormal.
As of late March, Jacksonville Director of Public Safety Michael Yaniero said crime rates in Jacksonville had significantly dropped over the last five years, though there has been an increase in 911 calls.
But is there a direct correlation in current crime trends with the decline of COVID restrictions?
Jacksonville Public Safety Public Affairs Coordinator Sarah Sinese said the department cannot, for certain, say there is a correlation, and they also cannot safely assume there is an increase or decrease in current trends due to incomplete yearly data.
“To date, the only thing we are seeing is a slight increase in commercial robberies,” Sinese said. “What we are seeing as a trend, mainly from 2019-2021, is a slight uptick in aggravated assaults (indicative of a national trend), crash fatalities, and calls for service.”
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Sinese said one could speculate these upticks are due to residents initially being quarantined and then reacclimating themselves to more integrated activities, such as increased traffic on the roads.
According to USA Facts, more than 5.6 million Americans were in prison, jail, or under probation/parole when counted in 2020. That’s a 13.3% decrease from 2019. Arrests per 100,000 people in 2020 also had their largest yearly decline in 35 years.
What about county-wide?
However, as far as current trends go, Onslow County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Colonel Chris Thomas said he hasn’t seen anything that can be directly related to the decrease in COVID cases.
Current crime trends for the county, Thomas said, include an increase in air conditioning unit thefts from vacant homes or homes under construction.
He said the department has had eleven reported A/C thefts since June 1, almost double what they had at the beginning of the year. With Onslow County heat melting residents this summer, it makes sense why A/C unit thefts would be higher in the summer.
Another crime trend for the county, Thomas said, is an increase in scams. The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office often posts on Facebook warning residents about ongoing scams, such as one earlier this year involving a caller identifying himself as a supervisor or deputy with the department, claiming he had a warrant for the citizen’s arrest.
“They ebb and flow, and this summer, we saw more,” Thomas said. “They range from the ‘sheriff’s office’ one, to email scams. One thing you could say that I read somewhere that I thought sounded real good was, ‘gift cards are for gifts, not payments.’ That, or making payments before getting money, doesn’t make sense.”
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Unfortunately, the third trend Thomas has seen, is an uptick in sexploitation cases. While he did not have the numbers on this one, Thomas said he personally noticed more reports of statutory rape this summer.
The Daily News reported in March of 2021 an increase in crimes through the department related to robberies, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and drug-related arrests.
“During the pandemic, we saw a couple of short spikes, but then things went back down to normal,” Thomas said in the 2021 story. “I don’t know if it (the pandemic) affected things quite frankly.”
Over a year later, both the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office and Jacksonville Police Department look to believe the same thing, as no correlation between the ease of COVID and local crime trends can be said for sure.
Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com
