Posts making the rounds on social media recently have declared Vicksburg to be one of the worst cities in Mississippi for crime, but the data couldn’t be further from the truth, Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong says.
A press release issued last month from the alarm company Home Security Shield showed Vicksburg was recently ranked sixth for the highest crime rate in the state. Another by USA.com showed Vicksburg having the fourth worst crime rate in the state.
Neither is reliable, Armstrong said.
“This ranking provides no insight into the many geographic and demographic variables that affect the crime rate in a city,” Armstrong said in a written statement. “The ranking is unsupported and unreliable.”
So just how safe is Vicksburg? It’s getting safer all the time.
Violent crime in Vicksburg has taken a serious plunge since 2009 when Armstrong took over the police department.
The number of homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults, robberies and shootings have all decreased in Armstrong’s tenure, according to an analysis of crime statistics reported by Vicksburg Police Department to the FBI.
From 2004 to 2008 Vicksburg had 22 murder cases. Since 2009, there have been 13, which is a decrease of 41 percent.  Almost all of the cases have been solved. Only one homicide case since 2009 remains unsolved in a joint investigation between the city and the county.
The body of Shanell Burden Stowers, 30, was found in March 2013 in a vacant lot on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Stowers had been reported missing in the county the previous October. It is unclear whether she was killed in the city or county.
Between 2004 and 2008, there were six unsolved homicides — including that of retired assistant police chief Walter Cole — in the city, Armstrong said.
Rape reports during the same time period decreased from eight to two. Both rape cases were solved.
The number of aggravated assaults fell from 804 to 528 — a decrease of 34.3 percent — and robbery has also fallen from 215 reports to 142 reports.
The city has continued to crack down on gun violence, issuing a zero tolerance policy for firearms discharged in the city.
Drive-by shootings have fallen from 21 to 14; shooting into a dwelling fell from 59 to 50; and shooting into a vehicle decreased from 43 to 31.
Property crime, however, remains a problem, Armstrong said.
Auto burglary increased 4.7 percent from 1,245 to 1,303 — just under 5 percent — and residential burglaries spiked from 1,356 to 1,613 — almost 19 percent.
“Every financial crisis since the late ‘50s has been associated with an increase particularly in property crime,” Armstrong said. “Typically there is a one-year lag between the economic change and increased crime rates.”
Some property crime rates have fallen.
Auto thefts are down from 571 in 2004 to 2008 to 341 since 2009. Business burglary has also fallen from 669 during that same time period to 502 under Armstrong.
Armstrong credits crime prevention activities such as Neighborhood Watch, the Walk Against Crime and the city’s participation in Crime Stoppers as playing a role in helping with the crime rate reduction.
Hundreds of people across the city participated in National Night Out earlier this month, which is the largest single activity conducted by Neighborhood Watch groups.
“Neighborhood Watch forges bonds among area residents, helps reduce burglaries and robberies and improves relations between police and the community they serve,” Armstrong said.