Report details crime, arrests in Shelby County during 2016

Published 12:07 pm Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Crime in Alabama 2016 report released on Aug. 28 provided insight into crime and arrests at the state, including the local level.

Secretary of Law Enforcement Hal Taylor said in a release that ALEA partners with municipal, county, university, state and drug task force agencies to produce the statistical analysis each year as part of the Uniform Crime Reporting program.

“In it, you will find details on criminal activity that occurred in Alabama during 2016 for various law enforcement agencies in Alabama,” Taylor said. “Using methodology prescribed by Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Program, it includes data sets for Part 1 crimes—homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson. In addition, it contains data for other crimes, arrests, clearances and law enforcement employees.”

The full report can be found at ALEA.gov/Home/wfContent.aspx?PLH1=plhACJIC-CrimeInAlabama.

In Shelby County during 2016, there were a total of five homicides, 54 rapes, 23 robberies, 493 assaults, 574 burglaries, 1,871 larcenies and 190 motor vehicle thefts—and a total of about 1.7 index crimes per 100 residents.

The county saw decreases in rapes (38 percent), robberies (47 percent), burglaries (15 percent) and larcenies (28 percent) from 2015. There were slight increases in assaults (4 percent) and motor vehicle thefts (9 percent).

Part 1 and Part 2 arrest data was broken by reporting agency and adult and juvenile arrests. The numbers below will follow the format of “Part 1 juvenile; Part 1 adult; Part 2 juvenile; and Part 2 adult:

  • Alabaster: 13; 121; 67; 1,119
  • Calera: 10; 106; 11; 320
  • Columbiana: 0; 32; 12; 104
  • Helena: 1; 19; 17; 217
  • Montevallo: 0; 30; 9; 311
  • Pelham: 0; 32; 1; 815
  • Jefferson State Community College: 0; 0; 0; 11
  • University of Montevallo: 0; 0; 0; 11

The report also provided information on number of law enforcement employees:

  • Alabaster: 58 male and three female sworn; three male and 16 female civilian.
  • Calera: 30 male and zero female sworn; two male and five female civilian.
  • Helena: 20 male and two female sworn; one male and four female civilian.
  • Hoover: 155 male and 10 female sworn; 28 male and 34 female civilian.
  • Montevallo: 13 male and zero female sworn; zero male and four female civilian.
  • Pelham: 66 male and three female sworn; three male and 12 female civilian.
  • Shelby County Sheriff’s Office: 115 male and eight female sworn; 55 male and 31 female civilian.
  • University of Montevallo: Seven male and three female sworn; seven male and four female civilian.

In Alabama, there were 165,505 crimes committed in 2016, a 2-percent increase from 2015.

Until 2016, the number of crimes committed in Alabama had decreased each year since 2012.

The crime rate for the state was about 3.4 per 100 residents.

Two hundred and seven law enforcement officers were assaulted in 2016, an average of less than one per day. Thirty-seven percent received serious injuries, and 63 percent received minimal or no injuries.

One full-time, sworn law enforcement officer was killed in the line of duty in 2016. No officers died in accidents while on duty.

A total of 26,397 people were arrested for Part 1 offenses in 2016, with juveniles making up 6 percent of the arrests and males making up 67 percent. Fifty-six percent of those arrested for Part 1 offenses were white, and 44 percent were black.

A total of 136,187 people were arrested for Part 2 offenses—a 7-percent increase from 2015—with 2 percent being juveniles, 72 percent males, 63 percent whites and 37 percent blacks.

A total of 10,438 people were arrested for narcotic drug violations, with 16 percent of the arrests for sale and 84 percent for possession.

There were 25,188 violent crimes reported in Alabama in 2016, a 13-percent increase from 2015.

There were 396 homicides reported, a 12-percent increase from the previous year.