[1/17/05]The number of aggravated assaults, simple assaults and auto thefts in Vicksburg has dropped during the past two years of Police Chief Tommy Moffett’s three-year tenure.

During the same period, crime in Warren County has remained roughly even with years past, except for slight bumps in simple assaults and auto thefts.

Overall, crime has been decreasing since hitting a high in all categories in the mid-1990s.

Moffett said his department will put an increased emphasis on snuffing out property crime in 2005.

“I would like for all them to be lower, but the number that concerns me most is burglaries. We’re going to put more emphasis on patrolling residential areas,” the three-year chief said.

Sheriff Martin Pace said aggressive pursuit of drug dealers will also help drive down burglaries.

“So many of our property crimes are driven by addiction,” said Pace, in his second four-year term.

The number of deputies on the patrol staff has been increased to 23, but it’s still a 618-square-mile county, Pace said

“These deputies are putting 150 to 200 miles on a patrol car in a shift easily,” Pace said.

Reports of most types of crime have decreased since Moffett took over the department Oct. 3, 2001, after retiring as chief of the Biloxi Police Department. Statistics provided by the department show aggravated assaults and simple assaults have seen the biggest drops, with 200 fewer aggravated assaults reported in 2003, as compared to 2004. About 450 fewer simple assaults were reported during the same period.

Moffett and Assistant Chief Richard O’Bannon both said the definition for aggravated assault had not changed from 2002 to 2003. The police department uses the definition provided by state law, O’Bannon said, which is assault with a weapon. District Attorney Gil Martin’s office presented 21 cases to a grand jury in 2001, five in 2002, 14 in 2003 and 14 in 2004. Charges often change between arrest and prosecution, Martin said.

Auto thefts have also seen a significant decline, falling from 194 in 2001 to a low of 74 in 2003.

The police chief credited a change in procedures, including checking night clubs to make sure they were not overcrowded, for causing the slide in violent assaults.

“I’m really not stat-driven. I’m driven more by getting good systems in place,” Moffett said.

“You don’t focus on the statistics; you focus on the quality of work,” he said.

The number of burglaries have swung up and down during the past several years.

Moffett said a few small groups of people were responsible for many of the property crimes.

“We had three different groups that accounted for 40 burglaries,” Moffett said.

Lessening those numbers cannot be done by police alone, Moffett said. Simple things like locking cars and putting items inside a garage or house will prevent many burglaries, he said.

“I would venture to say that 50 percent or greater of our auto thefts are because the vehicle is left unlocked,” Moffett said.