Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily TimesLowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk sits behind his desk at his office.

VALDOSTA — Violent crime increased in both Valdosta and Lowndes County in 2016, according to newly released crime statistics, and the area’s top lawmen have plans to stem any further increase.

Altogether, Lowndes County (not including Valdosta) had 91 violent crimes in 2016 — up from 84 in 2015 — while Valdosta had 205 in 2016, up from 196 the previous year, according to new data from the FBI released Thursday.

The FBI groups murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery under the “violent crime” header.

Aggravated assaults top list

Aggravated assault is the leading violent crime in both Valdosta and Lowndes County, according to the FBI statistics.

In Valdosta, there were 117 aggravated assaults reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting system in 2016, down from 123 in 2015. In unincorporated Lowndes County, 82 aggravated assaults were reported in 2016, up from 77 the previous year.

In other words, 90 percent of all violent crimes in Lowndes County outside of city limits are aggravated assaults, as opposed to 57 percent of Valdosta’s violent crimes, the FBI data shows.

The UCR program defines aggravated assault as an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury.

Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress attributed part of the difference between the city and county on aggravated assault to jurisdiction size: with more officers patrolling a smaller space — Valdosta — than the sheriff’s office has to cover, city police are more likely to spot an altercation.

Sheriff Ashley Paulk, who took office earlier this year after previously serving as sheriff from 1993-2009, said he has boosted road patrols by 30 percent since he returned to office in an effort to improve response times.

“If you have a simple battery, and the deputy gets there 20 minutes later, it could grow into an aggravated assault by then,” he said. “The faster we respond, the less violent it will be.”

Due to a computer error, the FBI does not have crime statistics for the City of Valdosta in 2015; those numbers were previously provided to The Times by Childress.

Causes of crime

Childress pegged the economy, weather and idle youths as three major influences on crime rates.

FBI numbers show that of all the regions of the U.S., the South has the highest crime rates in all measurable categories — and the lowest average incomes.

“It’s the haves and the have-nots,” he said. “Anytime you see a recovery from a recession, you see a reduction in crime.”

The climate also has an effect on crime rates, Childress said. He said crime rates in Washington state, a cool and temperate place, are lower than they are for the hot, humid South.

“It gets hot and people get frustrated,” he said.

Police Capt. Kari Williams said the most hectic times she’s ever seen were during the heat of the summer, while the cooler winter months calm down considerably.

The third factor – idle kids – can be seen when school’s not in session, the chief said.

“Whenever school resumes, crime rates go down,” Childress said.

Police Lt. Adam Bembry said his nightmare scenario is teenagers loitering around an unsuspecting person’s home at 3 a.m.

“This is South Georgia; everybody has a gun,” he said, calling a possible shooting by a frightened homeowner “a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.”

Valdosta vs. other cities

Chief Childress said Valdosta has less violent crime per capita than other Georgia cities of comparable size.

“We’re doing a good job in keeping crime rates low,” he said.

He compared the FBI numbers for Valdosta, population 56,000, with nearby Albany, population 74,000. Albany had 873 violent crimes in 2016, more than four times that of Valdosta, according to statistics.

“Proportionately, Albany should have had only 300 violent crimes” if its crime rate was the same as Valdosta, he said.

Some Georgia cities managed to have more crimes than Valdosta even with much smaller populations, such as College Park, population 14,724, with 279 violent crimes in 2016, the numbers show.

Other cities Childress pointed out as surpassing Valdosta’s crime rate are Griffin, East Point, Marietta and Warner Robins.

In other categories

• Valdosta police reported six cases of murder or non-negligent manslaughter in 2016, up from four homicides in 2015. In the county, there were no murder/manslaughter cases in 2015 or 2016, according to the FBI.

The city solves 94 percent of its homicide cases, significantly above the national average, Chief Childress said. He attributed this to the police department’s good community relations.

“People are willing to come forward and talk to us,” he said.

• Valdosta saw 17 cases of rape in 2016, up from the 2015 total of 14, while Lowndes had three rape cases in 2016, down from seven in 2015.

• Lowndes reported six robberies in 2015 and again in 2016, while Valdosta saw 65 robberies in 2016, up from 55 the previous year.

• There were 51 motor vehicle thefts in Lowndes in 2016, up from 32 in 2015, while Valdosta saw 143 vehicle thefts, down from 173 in 2015.

Crimefighting plans

High on Childress’ agenda for tackling violent crime rates is a proposed city curfew for juveniles.

“I told the city manager last fall that the decline in Part I crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft) Valdosta had seen for the last four to five years wouldn’t last unless we did something,” he said.

Childress has been promoting the idea of a city curfew from midnight-5 a.m. for everyone younger than 17, with a number of exceptions, such as school and church events, traveling to work or handling emergency family matters. Parents would be held accountable for their kids’ actions under his proposal.

“It would be a common-sense approach, with an officer walking up to someone who appears to be under 17, talking with them and seeing why they’re out at that hour,” he said.

Another proposal in the works for next summer, the chief said, is a Junior Citizens Police Academy, a juvenile version of an adult program the police department has carried out for years. The program would target 30 at-risk kids, Childress said.

Williams said details are still being worked out, but the junior program could include police ride-alongs, a shooting simulator, crime scene classes, K-9 demonstrations, possible trips to jails or prisons — and a Wild Adventures Theme Park outing.

At the sheriff’s office, Paulk urges his deputies to make their presence better known in the community.

“If they see someone out by the mailbox, the deputy can stop, introduce himself, talk and let them know he’s there,” he said. 

To bring down property crime rates, Paulk urged the public to be careful in Facebook postings not to give any hints as to when they won’t be home.

Childress warned against complacency. He mentioned an old television commercial in which a football coach is yelling at a player, who asks “But aren’t we winning 28-0?”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” the coach snarls.

“Just because violent crime is down, are we satisfied, or are we going to work to make the community even safer?” Childress asked.

Violence In surrounding towns

• Adel had 48 violent crimes in 2016, while Nashville had 30, Lake Park had five, Remerton had 10, Quitman had 54, Lakeland had 17, including one murder, Hahira had five, Jasper, Fla., had six, Jennings, Fla., didn’t have any, and Live Oak, Fla., had 84, FBI statistics show.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.