Crime in Georgia [July 1983]

CRIME IN G,EORGlA

Prepared by the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

July 1983

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CRIME IN GEORGIA
prepared by the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
July 1983

3oe arnnk %rrie
GOVERNOR
My Fellow Georgians : Throughout Georgia there are those who.daily inflict crime
and fear upon the citizens of our communities. Crime has an ultimate negative impact on the health, future and well-being of all of us. The challenge of crime in our society must be met through the participation and cooperation of all components of the criminal justice system working as allies to fulfill the task of protecting the citizens of Georgia.
Timely, accurate statistics which reveal the type and scope of the crimes committed in Georgia are vital for the Governor, the General Assembly, local governments, the various criminal justice components working in unison, and private organizations, to be able to make crucial decisions regarding the resources and solutions necessary to counter crime. Through the utilization of Crime in Georgia, more knowledgeable decisions can be reached
so that we may better -plan to more effectivel-y combat crime and
criminal behakior. With kindest regards, I remain
Sincerely,
Q ; J~oe -FraL nk~ Ha*rris

Office of the Governor
Criminal yu~ticeaoorbinwting &ouncil
205 Butler St. S.E.,Balcony Level, East Tower, Atlanta, GA 30334 Telephone (404) 656-1721
The Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council wishes t o express i t s appreciation t o Tom McGreevy, director, Georgia Crime Information Center, C.F. Blaisdell, chief, User and Data Services, and staff members Gib Heuett and David House; to Ann Blum, Emily Honigberg, Reid McCallister, Debra Peters, lnge Whittle, and Dorothy Paul of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government for their help in preparing this document. Their assistance is gratefully acknowledged.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL MEMBERS

Mrs. Bettye 0. Hutchings (Chairman) Post Office Box 996 Macon, Georgia 31202 Tel. (912)745-0910
Honorable Tracy Stallings (Vice Chairman) Mayor, City of Carrollton West Georgia College Carrollton, Georgia 301 18 Tel. (404) 834-1395

(Two-Year Term) (Three-Year Term)

Mr. J. Lane Johnston (Secretary-Treasurer) District Attorney Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Post Office Box 973 Statesboro, Georgia 30459 Tel. (912) 764-9924

(Vice Chairman, Board of Public Safety)

Honorable Jim Goolsby, (Chairman, Executive Committee) Spalding County Commission Box 591 Griffin, Georgia 30224 Tel. (404) 228-4090

(Four-Year Term)

Chief Richard M. Bond (Executive Committee) Americus Police Department 119 South Lee Street Americus, Georgia 31709 Tel. (912) 924-3678

(Three-Year Term)

Mr. James T. Morris (Executive Committee) State Board of Pardons and Paroles 5th Floor East Floyd Veterans Memorial Building 2 Martin Luther King Drive, S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Tel. (404) 656-5651

(Permanent Designee for the Chairman, State Board of Pardons and Paroles)

Honorable David C. Evans Commissioner, Department of
Offender Rehabilitation Room 756, East Tower Floyd Veterans Memorial Building 2 Martin Luther King Drive, S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Tel. (404) 656-6002

(Commissioner, Department of Offender Rehabilitation)

Ms. Sandra W. Galloway Polk County Clerk of Court Post Office Box 948 Cedartown, Georgia 30125 Tel. (404) 748-2615

(Two-Year Term)

Honorable Othniel W. McGehee Judge, Juvenile Court of Bibb
County Bibb County Courthouse Macon, Georgia 31201 Tel. (912) 745-6871
Major Louis Graham, Assistant Chief Fulton County Police Department 183 Central Avenue, S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Tel. (404) 572-3211
Mr. F.D. Hand, Jr., Director DeKalb County Department
of Public Safety Camp Road Complex 4400 Memorial Drive Decatur, Georgia 30032 Tel. (404) 294-2501
Honorable Jim Higdon, Commissioner Department of Community Affairs 8th Floor 40 Marietta Street, N.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Tel. (404) 656-3836
Ms. Marjorie Young, Director Division of Youth Services Department of Human Resources 618 Ponce de Leon Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Tel. (404) 894-4570
Mr. Mel Pender 4910 Karl's Gate Drive Marietta, Georgia 30067 Tel. (404) 993-0439 (Home)
Mr. Ronnie Rogers, Sheriff Laurens County Sheriff's Office Post Off ice Box 21 16 Dublin, Georgia 31021 Tel. (912) 272-1522
Mr. Harry Gordon, District Attorney Western Judicial Circuit 193 E. Hancock Ave. Athens, Georgia 30601 Tel. (404) 546-8330 Ext. 111

(President, Council of Juvenile Court Judges)
(Chairman, Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council )
(Chairman, Georgia Organized Crime Prevention Council)
. (Commissioner,
Department of Community Affairs)
(Director, Division of Youth Services, Department of Human Resources)
(Two-Year Term)
(Four-Year Term)
(Chairman, Prosecuting Attorneys' Council)

Ms. Helen D. Scholes 742 Kennesaw Due West Road Kennesaw, Georgia 30144 Tel. (404)429-3293
Ms. Selina B. Stanford Communication Workers of America 3516 Covington Highway Decatur, Georgia 30032 Tel. (404) 296-5553
Honorable Andrew J. Whalen, Jr. Chief Judge, Superior Court Griffin Judicial Circuit Post Office Box 781 Griffin, Georgia 30224 Tel. (404) 227-7539

(Two-Year Term)
(Chairperson, Board of Offender Rehabilitation)
(Chairman, Judicial Council of Georgia)

SPECIAL ADVISORY ASSISTANT TO THE DlR ECTOR:
The Rev. Msgr. R. Donald Kiernan P.A. Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church 2855 Briarcliff Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30329 Tel. (404) 636-1418

CONTENTS
Introduction 1 Data Interpretation Techniques of Data Analysis
Summary of Crime in Georgia 3
lndex Crimes Crimes against Persons Crimes against Property Arrests
Section I. lndex Crimes: Characteristics, Trends, Comparisons 7 Profile of Crime in Georgia Summary of Crime Characteristics, 1981 Geographical Distribution of Crime Crime Trends and Comparisons Changes in Crime Rates Seriousness of Crime
Section II.Arrests: Trends, Characteristics, Comparisons 29
Arrest Trends Profile of Persons Arrested
Section III.Public Reaction 37
Section IV. County Crime Profiles 39
County Rankings
Appendix: Data Analysis Techniques 53

TABLES
1. Profile of Reported lndex Crimes, Georgia, 1981 8 2. Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter 9 3. Forcible Rape 10 4. Robbery 11 5. Aggravated Assault 12 6. Burglary 13 7. Larceny 14 8. Motor Vehicle Theft 15 9. Arson 16 10. Characteristics of lndex Crimes, 1981 17 11. Geographical Patterns of Numbers and Rates of lndex Crimes, 1981 19 12. Changes in Geographical Patterns of Total lndex Crime Rates,
1980-1981 20 13. Changes in Numbers of Reported lndex Crimes, Georgia, 1977-1981 23 14. Changes in lndex Crime Rates per 100,000 Persons, Georgia, 1977-1981 24 15. Changes in Numbers and Rates of lndex Crimes, Georgia, South, Nation,
1977-1981 25 16. Changes in Rates of lndex Crimes, Georgia, South, Nation, 1977-1981 26 17. Changes in Numbers of lndex Crimes, Georgia, South, Nation,
1977-1981 27 18. Relationship between Crime and Population, Georgia 1977-1981 27 19. Rates for lndex Crimes Based on Risk Populations, 1981 28 20. Changes in Numbers of Reported Arrests, 1977-1981 31 21. Comparison of Number of Reported lndex Crimes and
Number of Reported lndex Crime Arrests, 1977-1981 32 22. Profile of Persons Arrested by Age, Sex, Race, 1981 33 23. Arrest Rates per 100,000 Persons by Specific Age, Sex, Race, 1981 34 24. Georgia Arrests for lndex Crimes, 1972-1981 35 25. Georgia Arrests for lndex Crimes, 1972-1981, by Age Group 36 26. Ranking of Counties by Number of Reported lndex Crimes, 1981 40 27. Ranking of Counties by lndex Crime Rates per 100,000 Persons, 1981 41 28. County Crime Profiles 42-51

FIGURES
1. Five-Year Trend: Total lndex Crime Rates Relative t o Arrest Rates, 1977-1981 4
2. Five-YearTrend: Property lndex Crime Rates Relative to Arrest Rates, 1977-1981 5
3. Five-Year Trend: Violent lndex Crime Rates Relative to Arrest Rates, 1977-1981 5
4. lndex Crime Rate by SMSAs, Non-SMSAsIUrban, Rural Areas, 1981 18 5. Five-Year Trend in Numbers of Reported lndex Crimes, Georgia,
1977-1981 20 6. Five-Year Trend in Rates of Reported lndex Crimes, Georgia 1977-1981 22
7. Comparison of lndex Crime Rates, Georgia, South, Nation, 1977-1981 28
8. Five-Year Trend in Numbers of Reported Arrests, 1977-1981 30
9. Five-YearTrend in Arrest Rates, 1977-1981 30

INTRODUCTION
Georgia's crime reporting system is patterned after that of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It i s principally designed t o collect two types of crime data from local law enforcement agencies according t o standardized definitions and procedures. The first type of data-reported offenses-includes counts for the crimes of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The first four offenses are termed violent crimes or crimes against persons; the remaining four are termed property crimes. Because of their seriousness, frequency of occurrence, and likelihood of being reported, these crimes are thought of as forming an index of the crime problem, and consequently, these Part I offenses, in which arson has been included for the first time in 1980, are known as Index crimes. Counts for less serious crimes, designated Part II crimes, are also collected. The second type of dataarrest statistics-can be used to measure law enforcement activity in addition t o identifying some of the characteristics of the criminal population.
The Georgia Crime lnformation Center, which is responsible for administering the state's crime reporting system, collects, edits, and aggregates the crime reports submitted by almost all of the local law enforcement agencies in Georgia, producing a uniform, comprehensive data base. This information, in turn, is routed t o the FBI for inclusion in the national Uniform Crime Reporting Program and t o the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for use in report preparation, policy analysis, and other research activities.
The data provided in this report relative to Georgia crime statistics are comprised of actual reports on file with the Georgia Crime lnformation Center. The FBI provides statistical data on criminal activity on a nationwide basis. Those tables comparing criminal activity in Georgia with that of the South and the nation are based on FBI statistical data.

DATA INTERPRETATION
Several cautions in interpreting the crime data produced by this system must be observed. First, it i s well established that many more crimes occur than are ever reported. Thus, depending on the type of crime and type of victim, statistics based on the number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies may seriously underestimate the number of crimes that actually take place. By extension, because the size and variation of this "hidden figure of crime" are not known, it cannot be said that changes in reported crime necessarily reflect commensurate changes in criminal behavior.
Second, the Georgia Crime Information Center does not include estimates for arrests that take place but are not reported. The number of law enforcement agencies failing t o report criminal activity t o the G.C.I.C. has been on the increase in recent years (over 16% of law enforcement agencies during 1981). Again, changes in the number of reported arrests may not necessarily reflect the actual level of change in law enforcement activity. Also, there is evidence that changes in the actual number of crimes committed normally coincide with changes in population. Accordingly, historical comparisons ,of the number of crimes reported may be misleading if the accompanying changes in population are not considered. The same is true for interjurisdictional comparisons; it is expected that different populations have different levels of crime. The use of crime rates in making comparisons minimizes these problems. Finally, from the same logic, because crime rates are a function of the number of persons affected, as well as the number of crimes reported, they are only as accurate as are population estimates.
Still, because of i t s uniformity and comprehensiveness, the state's crime statistics data base, particularly for 1977 and subsequent years, is very useful for describing Georgia's crime problem over time and in making comparisons with other jurisdictions.
TECHNIQUES OF DATA ANALYSIS
The analytic techniques used in preparing tables are discussed in the Appendix. The percentages and numbers in some tables do not add up to the total count due t o rounding or missingdata.

SUMMARY OF CRIME IN GEORGIA
INDEX CRIMES
In 1981, 300,089 lndex crimes were reported to law enforcement agencies in Georgia. This total was an increase of 2.1 percent over 1980 and 39.6 percent over 1977. The rate of lndex crimes for 1981 was 5,395.0 per 100,000 population, up .3 percent from 1980 and up 26.7 percent from 1977.
CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS
Georgians experienced 29,598 known violent crimes in 1981, including 836 murders, 2,459 forcible rapes, 10,991 robberies, and 15,312 aggravated assaults. This was a decrease of .7 percent over the previous year and an increase of 33.3 percent compared with 1977. The rate of violent crime dropped 2.5 percent over 1980 and increased 25.8 percent over 1977. In 1981, 9.9 percent of lndex crimes were those committed against people, a decrease of 2.0 percent over 1980.
CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY
A total of 270,491 property crimes were reported in 1981, up 2.5 percent from 1980 and 40.3 percent from 1977. The 88,822 burglaries, 162,368 larcenies, 18,061 motor vehicle thefts, and 1,240 arsons produced a .6 percent increase in the property crime rate for 1981 over 1980, a 27.3 percent increase over the last five years. The vast majority of lndex crimes involved the stealing of property.

ARRESTS
Law enforcement agencies made 52,578 arrests for lndex crimes in 1981. Arrests in murder, forcible rapes, robbery, burglary, larceny, and arson were higher, and arrests in aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft were lower, producing an overall increase of 4.4 percent compared to 1980 and an increase of 33.8 percent over 1977's total. Arrest rates continued to be highest for males, 15 to 19 years of age.
Figure 1 depicts the total index crime rates relative to the total lndex crime arrest rates. Figure 2 shows the total property crime rates relative to the total property lndex crime arrest rates. Figure 3 depicts the total violent lndex crime rates relative to total violent lndex crime arrest rates.

- 6,000
7
5,800 -5,600 -5,400 -5,200 -5,000 -4,800 --
4,600 -
-
- 4,000

FIGURE 1

Five-Year Trend: Total lndex Crime Rates Relative to Arrest Rates, 1977-1981

I

1

I

I.

I

-

- - -

5416.9

5377.5

- -

5395.0

- - - -

- - -

- -

-

- - -

-

-

1,000 900 800 700

- - - -
-

719.1

500 -

I

855.1
I

899.2

921.7

Total Index Crime Arrest Rate

I

I

945.2

- -

- - -

I

(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

5,000 --
4,800 -
4,600 -
4,400.-- 4,200
-
3,600 -
- 7
- 3,400 3,200 -- 3,000

FIGURE 2
Five-Year Trend: Property lndex Crime Rates Relative to Arrest Rates, 1977-1981

I

I

I

I

I

-

-

--- 4862.9 - -

- -
- - - - - - - -

700 600

-

-- 53<
400

629.7

Total property Index crime Arrest Rates

664.6

680.1

-- 701.4 - -

I

I

I

I

I

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office of Planning and Bud. get Population Estimate)

FIGURE 3
Five-Year Trend: Violent lndex Crime Rates Relative to Arrest Rates, 1977-1981

1
600 -
500 400 -
300 -
100 0 -

I
225.3

I

I

558.7

545.5

Total Violent Index Crime Rates

234.6

241.6

Total Violent Index Crime Arrest Rates

I
-
- 53*2.1 -
- 243.9 -

I

I

I

I

I

(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)
5

Section I INDEX CRIMES: CHARACTERISTICS,TRENDS, COMPARISONS
PROFILE OF CRIME IN GEORGIA
ln 1981, Georgians reported 300,089 Index crimes to law enforcement agencies (see Table 1). Included in this total were 836 murders, 2,459 forcible rapes, 10,991 robberies, 15,312 aggravated assaults, 88,822 burglaries, 162,368 larcenies, 18,061 motor vehicle thefts, and 1,240 arsons. Larcenies accounted for the highest percentage (54.1%) of the total number of lndex crimes, and burglaries made up the second highest category (29.6%). Overall, 9.9 percent of the lndex crimes were violent crimes committed against persons; the rest, 90.1 percent, were property offenses. Based on the Office of Planning and Budget's population estimate for Georgia of 5,562,354, for each 100,000 persons in the state 532.1 violent crimes and 4,862.9 property crimes were reported, producing an lndex crime rate of 5,395.0. I n addition to Part I lndex crimes, a significant number of other crimes (known as Part I I offenses) were reported by arrest, for a total of 237,077 additional crimes, including 16,916 assaults, 23,829 cases of fraud and forgeries, 3,045 sex offenses, 3,938 vandalisms, and 113,507 arrests for driving under the influence and drunkenness.
While counts for the eight lndex crimes illustrate the magnitude of the problem, the nature of serious criminal behavior can be further identified by examining pertinent details of individual crimes (see Tables 2-9).
SUMMARY OF CRIME CHARACTERISTICS, 1981
The crimes of murder and aggravated assault typically involve people who know one another or have had some contact in the past (see Table 10). On the other hand, assuming that most of the unreported relationships between victims and offenders are stranger-to-stranger,

Table 1

PROFILE OF REPORTED INDEX CRIMES, GEORGIA, 1981

--
Type of Crime

Number Reported

Percentage of Total

- --
Rate per 100.000

Murder
Rape
Robbery Aggravated assault
Total violent crime

836 2,459 10,991
15,312

.3

15.0

.B

44.2

3.7

197.6

5.1

275.3

Burglary
Larceny
Motor vehicle theft
'Arson
Total property crime

162,328 1,240
270,491

54.1 .4
90.1

2,918.3 22.3
4,862.9

Total index crime

"Atlanta Police Department does not report Arson offenses to the Georgia Crime lnformation Center.
(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

then robberies, burglaries, larcenies, and motor vehicle thefts are usually committed against persons unknown to the criminal.
Firearms were used in 38.3 percent of the violent crimes against persons, making them the most frequently used type of weapon. The remaining weapon types were used less frequently: cutting tools, 16.7 percent; hands and fists, 21.0 percent; and other dangerous instrumentalities, 21.8 percent.
In 1981, $206,650,441 in property was reported stolen during the commission of Index crimes. Motor vehicle thefts accounted for the greatest loss, $73,137,228, followed by burglaries, $67,658,386, larcenies, $59,635,799 and robberies, $6,086,121. The average value of property stolen during a motor vehicle theft was $4,049, compared to $554 taken during a robbery, $762 during a burglary, and $367 during a larceny.
Generally, with the exception of robbery, most Index crimes occurred in residences or public places.

Table 2 MURDER AND NON-NEGLIGENTMANSLAUGHTER

DEFINITION
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter are defined as the willful killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, suicide, accident, or justifiable homicide are not included in the count for this offense classification. Attempts to murder or assaults to murder are scored as aggravated assaults and not as murder.

Year

Number Reported

TREND
Change from Previous Year

Rate per 100.000

Change from Previous Year

Percentage change from 1977 t o 1981 -in number of reported crimes: 41.O% -in rate per 100,000: 30.8%

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim-Offender Relationship Type Weapon Used
Place o f Occurrence
Months of Highest Occurrence Value of Property Stolen Arrests/Crimes Ratio* Profile of Persons Arrested
Age: .5% 14 and under 11.9% 1 5 - 1 9
33.7% 35 and over

9.9% Stranger-to-stranger 59.8% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger 30.3% Unknown

61.5% 1 1.8%
5.1% 17.3%
4.2%

Firearm Cutting tool Hands, fists, etc. Other dangerous weapon Unknown

7.5% 7.7% 46.8% 38.0%

Street, alley Business establishment Residence Parks, public buildings, and other places

10.8% May 9.6% October 9.4% JanuaryIMarch

$18,893 Total $23 per incidtnt

89.5%

748 Arrests

Sex: 82.5% Male 17.5% Female

Race: 39.6% White 60.4% Non-white

"Indicates percentage of crimes in this category that resulted in arrests.
Note: Due t o rounding, percentages d o not always total 100%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 3 FORCIBLE RAPE

DEFINITION
Forcible rape i s the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. This category includes assaults or attempts to commit forcible rape by force or threat of force, but not statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses.

Year

Number Reported

TREND
Change f r o m Previous Year

1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

1,570 1,928 2,216 2.513 2,459

26.6 22.8 14.9 13.4
- 2.1

Percentage change from 1977 t o 1981 -in number o f reported crimes: 56.6% -in rate per 100,000: 42.1%

Rate per 100.000
31.1 37.9 43.3 46.0 44.2

Change f r o m Previous Year
24.9 21.9 14.2
6.2
- 3.9

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim-Offender Relationship Type Weapon Used
Place o f Occurrence
Months o f Highest Occurrence Value of Property Stolen ArrestsICrimes Ratio* Profile o f Persons Arrested
Age: 2.1 % 14 and under 16.0% 1 5 - 1 9
14.3% 35 and over

39.4% Stranger-to-stranger 36.2% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger 24.4% U n k n o w n

12.0% 9.5% 60.6% 7.9% 10.0%

Firearm Cutting tool Hands, fists, etc. Other dangerous weapon Unknown

9.1% Street, alley 4.3% Business establishment 33.2% Residence 53.4% Parks, public buildings and
other places

11.7% July 10.2% August 9.8% June

$1 14,014 Total $46 per incident

38.0%

935 Arrests

Sex: 98.5% Male 1.5% Female

Race: 31.I% White 68.9% Non-white

"Indicates percentage of crimes i n this category that resulted i n arrests.
Note: Due t o rounding, percentages d o n o t always total 100%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 4 ROBBERY

DEFINITION
Robbery is the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Year

Number Reported

TREND
Change f r o m Previous Year

1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

7,094 8,4 54 10,939 10,884 10,991

.3 19.2 29.4 -.5
1.O

Percentage change f r o m 1977 t o 1981 -in number o f reported crimes: 54.9% -in rate per 100,000: 40.6%

Rate per 100,000
140.5 166.3 213.7 199.2 197.6

Change f r o m Previous Year
- 1.3
18.4 28.5
- 6.8 - .8

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim.-Offender Relationship
T y p e Weapon Used
Place o f Occurrence
Months o f Highest Occurrence
Value of Property Stolen ArrestsICrimes Ratio* Profile o f Persons Arrested
Age: .7% 1 4 a n d under 24.1% 15-19
- -
10.5% 35 and over

56.7% Stranger-to-stranger 11.4% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger 31.9% U n k n o w n

46.7% 7.4%
31.5% 13.0%
1.4%

Firearm Cutting tool Hands, fists, etc. Other dangerous weapon Unknown

32.4% 40.0% 14.6% 13.0%

Street, alley Business establishment Residence Parks, public buildings and other places

9.9% December 9.1% August 9.0% January

$6,086,121 Total $554 per incident

27.3%

2,998 Arrests

Sex: 92.4% Male 7.6% Female

Race: 31.5% White 68.4% Non-white

"Indicates percentage o f crimes i n this category that resulted i n arrests. Note: Due t o rounding, percentages d o not always total 100%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 5 AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

DEFINITION
Aggravated assault i s the unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe bodily injury. This type of assault i s usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm. Attempts are included since i t is not necessary that an injury result when a gun, knife, or other weapon is used which could and probably would result in serious personal injury if the crime is successfully completed.

Year

Number Reported

TREND
Change from Previous Year

1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

12,946 13,432 14,562 15,624 15,312

7.7 3.8 8.4 7.3 -2.0

Percentage change from 1977 t o 1981 -in number of reported crimes: 18.3% -in rate per 100,000:7.3%

Rate per 100,000
256.5 264.2 284.5 285.9 275.3

Change f r o m Previous Year
6.0 3 .O 7.7
.5 -3.7

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim-Offender Relationship
Type Weapon Used
Place of Occurrence
Months o f Highest Occurrence
ArrestsICrimes Ratio* Profile of Persons Arrested
Age: 1 .I% 14 and under 11.0% 15-19
21 .O% 20 - 24
19.1% 25 -29 16.4% 30 - 34 31.4% 35 and over

19.0% Stranger-to-stranger 57.5% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger 23.6% Unknown

35.3% 24.8%
8.0% 30.6%
1.4%

Firearm Cutting tool Hands, fists, etc. Other dangerous weapon Unknown

10.4% 9.6% 31.8% 48.3%

Street, alley Business establishment Residence Parks, public buildings and other places

10.0% July 9.4% August 9.2% June

58.0%

8,885 Arrests

Sex: 81.9% Male 18.1% Female

Race: 40.5% White 59.4% Non-white

*Indicates percentage of crimes in this category that resulted in arrests.
Note: Due t o rounding, percentages d o not always total 100%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 6
BURGLARY
- --
DEFINITION Burglary is defined as the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. The use of force to gain entry is not required to classify the crime as a burglary.

TREND

Year
1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

Number Reported
68,205 75,022 81,579 88,328 88,822

Change f r o m Previous Year
- 5.2
10.0 8.7 8.3
.6

Percentage change from 1977 t o 1981 -in number of reported crimes: 30.2% -in rate per 100,000: 18.2%

Rate per 100.000
1,351.1 1,475.6 1,594.0 1,616.8 1,596.8

Change f r o m Previous Year
-6.7 9.2 8.0 1.4
-1.2

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim-Offender Relationship Place of Occurrence

Months o f Highest Occurrence

Value of Property Stolen

ArrestsICrimes Ratio*

Profile o f Persons Arrested

Age:

4.9% 14 and under
37.7% 15 - 19
27.9% 20 - 2 4
14.7% 25 - 2 9
7.8% 30 - 34
6.9% 35 and over

12.6% Stranger-to-stranger 3.4% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger
84.0% Unknown

.2% 19.9% 64.0% 15.9%

Street, alley Business establishment Residence Parks, public buildings and other places

9.4% January
8.9% December / July
8.7% August

$67,658,386 Total $762 per incident

10,748 Arrests
Sex: 93.7% Male 6.3% Female
Race: 49.6% White 50.4% Non-white

'Indicates percentage of crimes in this category that resulted in arrests.
Note: Due t o rounding, percentages d o not always total 100%. (Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 7 LARCENY

DEFINITION
Larceny is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. It includes crimes such as shoplifting, pocket-picking, purse-snatching, thefts from motor vehicles, thefts of motor vehicle parts and accessories, bicycle thefts, etc., in which no use of force, violence, or fraud occurs.

Year

Number Reported

TREND
Change from Previous Year

Rate per 100.000

Change from Previous Year

-- -
Percentage change from 1977 to 1981 -in number of reported crimes: 48.2% -in rate per 100,000: 34.5%

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim-Offender Relationship Criminal Activity
Place of Occurrence
Months of Highest Occurrence Value of Property Stolen ArrestsICrimes Ratio* Profile of Persons Arrested
Age: 4.2% 14 and under 26.7% 1 5 - 1 9 17.3% 35 and over

19.0% Stranger-to-stranger 5.6% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger
75.4% Unknown
Pocket-picking Purse-snatching Shoplifting From motor vehiclelauto accessories Bicycles From buildings From coin machines Other thefts
3.2% Street, alley 32.5% Business establishment 27.6% Residence 36.6% Parks, public buildings and
other places
9.4% April 9.2% August/July 8.5% May
$59,635,799 Total $367 per incident
15.7%
25,556 Arrests
Sex: 71.3% Male 28.7% Female
Race: 45.8% White 54.0% Non-white

'Indicates percentage of crimes in this category that resulted in arrests. Note: Due to rounding, percentages do not always total 100%. (Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 8 MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT

DEFINITION
Motor vehicle theft is defined as the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. This definition excludes taking for temporary use by those persons having lawful access t o the vehicle.

Year

Number Reported

TREND
Change from Previous Year

Rate per 100.000

Change from Previous Year

1981

18,061

9.2

Percentage change from 1977 to 1981 -in number of reported crimes: 20.1% -in rate per 100,000: 9.0%

324.7

10.8

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim-Offender Relationship
Place of Occurrence
Months of Highest Occurrence
Value of Property Stolen ArrestsICrimes Ratio* Profile of Persons Arrested
Age: 3.6% 14 and under 32.0% 1 5 - 19
14.5% 35 and over

12.6% Stranger-to-stranger 8.7% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger
78.7% Unknown

7.4% 22.7% 30.4% 39.5%

Street, alley Business establishment Residence Parks, public buildings and other places

9.6% July 8.5% October 8.3% December

$73,137,228 Total $4,049 per incident

12.9%

2,325 Arrests

Sex: 91.8% Male 8.2% Female

Race: 61.4% White 38.5% Non-white

'Ind~catespercentage of crimes in this category that resulted in arrests.
Note: Due to rounding, percentages do not always total 100%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 9 ARSON*

DEFINITION
Arson is defined as any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.
Only fires determined through investigation to have been willfully or maliciously set are classified as arsons. Fires of suspicious or unknown origins are excluded.

Year

Number Reported

TREND
Change from Previous Year

Rate per 100.000

Change f r o m Previous Year

CHARACTERISTICS, 1981

Victim-Offender Relationship
Place o f Occurrence
Months of Highest Occurrence
ArrestsICrimes Ratio** Profile of Persons Arrested
Age: 3.9% 14 and under 20.9% 1 5 - 1 9
21.4% 20 - 24 18.0% 25 - 29
12.5% 30 - 34
23.2% 35 and over

16.2% Stranger-to-stranger 16.0% Non-stranger-to-non-stranger 67.8% Unknown

5.6% 15.7% 50.5% 28.1%

Street, alley Business establishment Residence Parks, public buildings and other places

10.3% January 9.1% March 9.0% JuneIJuly

30.9%

383 Arrests

Sex: 85.9% Male 14.1% Female

Race: 68.9% White 31. l % Non-white

*Atlanta Police Department does not report Arson offenses t o the Georgia Crime lnformation Center.
*"Indicates percentage of crimes in this category that resulted i n arrests.
Note: Due t o rounding or missing data, percentages d o not always total 100%.
(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 10 CHARACTERISTICS OF INDEX CRIMES, 1981

Victim-Perpetrator Relationship (%)
Reported strangerto-stranger
Reported nonstranger-to-non stranger
Relationship not known
Weapon Used (%I
Firearm
Cutting tool
Hands, fists, etc.
Other dangerous weapons
Unknown

Murder

Forcible Rape

9.9 59.8 30.3

39.4 36.2 24.4

61.5 11.8
5.1
17.3 4.2

12.0 9.5
60.6
7.9 10.0

Robbery

Aggravated Assault

56.7
11.4 31 .9
46.7 7.4
31.5 13.0
1.4

19.0
57.5 23.6
35.3 24.8
8.0 30.6
1.4

Burglary

Larceny

12.6 3.4
84 .O

19.0 5.6
75.4

Motor Vehicle
Theft

Arson*

12.6

16.2

8.7 78.7

16.0 67.8

Property Stolen Total value
Value per incident

$18,893 $1 14,014

$ 23 $

46

$6,086,121

$

554

$

762 $

367

$

4,049

Occurrence (%) Street, alley
Service station
Chain store
Bank
Other commercial business
Residence
Public areas, other buildings, unknown

7.5
- - - - - - - -
1.8 .2
5.6 46.8
38.0

9.1 .33
.7
. a4
3.3 33.2
53.4

32.4 5.4
11.8 1.5
21.2 14.6
13.0

10.4 .68
1.1 .02
7.8 31.8
48.3

.2 1.1 1.4 .05
17.3 64.0
15.9

3.2 3.2 5.8
.1
23.4 27.6
36.6

7.4

5.6

1.2

.4

1.3

1.5

.1

.2

20.0 30.4

13.6 50.5

39.5

28.1

"Atlanta Police Department does not report Arson offenses t o the Georgia Crime lnformation Center. Note: Due t o rounding or missing data, percentages d o not always total 100%. (Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center)

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME
In 1981 persons living in Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs), which are geographical subdivisions composed of a core city with over 50,000 population and i t s surrounding counties, experienced the highest crime rates in the state for all categories of Index crimes except murder and arson. Another geographical subdivision, Non-SMSAs/Urban, which consists of those counties containing within their geographical boundaries a core city or cities with between 15,000 and 50,000 population, had crime rates approximately one-half those of the SMSAs, with the exception of arson which exceeded the rate for SMSAs. Rural Areas, which are those counties containing a city or cities with under 15,000 population, had the lowest crime rates in all categories except murder, which also exceeded the rate for SMSAs. As the geographical patterns appear to indicate in Figure 4 and Table 11, an increase in the number and rates of lndex crimes, with the exception of murder and arson, is proportionate t o an increase in the density of population.
FIGURE 4
lndex Crime Rate by SMSAs, Non-SMSAsfUrban, Rural Areas, 1981
Total lndex Crime Rate

SMSAS

NON-SMSAs/URBAN RURAL AREAS

(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 11
GEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS OF NUMBERS AND RATES OF INDEX CRIMES, 1981

Type of Crime

Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas

Number Reported

Rate per 100,000 People

Non-SMSAsIUrban

Number Reported

Rate per 100,000 People

Rural

Number Reported

Rate per 100,000 People

Murder
Forcible rape
Robbery
Aggravated assault
Total violent crime

476 1,951 9,573 10,974

14.7 60.4 296.3 339.7

99 226 705 1,768

22,974

71 1 .I 2,798

14.9 34.0 105.9 265.7

26 1 282 713 2,570

420.4 3,826

15.7 16.9 42.8 154.2
229.6

Burglary
Larceny
Motor vehicle theft
"Arson
Total property crime
Total index crime

68,060 124,272
14,546 737
207,615
230,589

2,106.7 9,225 3,846.6 19,385

450.2 22.8

1,734 225

6,426.4 30,569

7.1 37.5 33,367

1,386.1 12,300 2,912.7 18,671

260.5 33.8

1,781 278

4,593.1 32,307

5,013.5 36,133

692.4 1 ,I 20.6
106.9 16.7
1,939.0
2.1 68.7

*Atlanta Police Department does not report Arson offenses to the Georgia Crime lnformation Center.
(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

CRIME TRENDS AND COMPARISONS
Yearly changes in the total number and rate of Index crimes were highly variable during the period 1977-1981, ranging from an increase of almost 15 percent to a decrease of over 11 percent. This high degree of variability is even more apparent when individual lndex crimes are examined, so that it is difficult to identify trends or make predictions. Generally though, both the number of crimes and the crime rate have been increasing, but a t a slower rate. Absolute decreases were shown in 1977 as compared with 1976 and a slowed down rate of increase in 1980 as compared with 1979 and again in 1981 as compared to 1980. There was a significant decrease from 1980 in the number of reported crimes and the crime rate for motor vehicle theft in 1981. In addition, forcible rape, which had a significant increase in 1980 over 1979, decreased in 1981 as compared to 1980, in both the number reported and crime rate. In contrast, murder and larceny increased more than any other lndex crime in 1981 over 1980, in both the number reported and crime rates. Although Georgia experienced a significant increase in

Table 12

CHANGES I N GEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS OF TOTAL INDEX CRIME RATES, 1980-1981

Year
1980 1981

Statewide

Rate

Percent Change

5,377.5 - - - - - - -

5,395.0

.3

SMSA

Rate

Percent Change

7,043.2 7,137.5

.-----
1.3

Non-SMSAlUrban

Rate

Percent Change

4,986.4 - - - - - - -

5,013.5

.5

Rural Areas

Rate

Percent Change

2,219.6 2,168.7

--- - - - -2.3

(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office o f Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

reported crime and crime rates in 1978 and 1979, the increases are not unprecedented; in the past 10 years, they have been exceeded twice. The pattern of change in the number of reported lndex crimes is shown in Table 13 and Figure 5, and the pattern of changes in lndex crime rates per 100,000 persons is shown in Table 14 and Figure 6. Both appear to indicate a leveling off of the number of reported Index crimes and the crime rates.
FIGURE 5
Five-Year Trend in Numbers of Reported lndex Crimes, Georgia, 1977-1981

120

304 r.

22r203

-24,545

28,594

29,803

Total Violent Crime

29,598

(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center)

Most of the other states have experienced a similar growth in reported crime. Counts for 1977 seemed to signify a downturn in crime, but 1978 and 1979 statistics indicate that crime rates rose again. I t appears that in 1980 and 1981 this increase in the number of reported crimes and the crime rates began leveling off. Georgia's rate of increase for the period 1977-1981 was 26.7 percent as compared to the South's rate of 19.0 percent and the national rate of 14.7. (See Tables 15 and 16.) Georgia's high rate of increase for this period i s partly due to the tremendous decrease in the number of reported crimes in 1977.
The most significant differences between Georgia, the South, and the nation occurred in the number of reported murders and larceny during the period 1977-1981. The percentage increase in murders reported between 1977-1981 was 41.0 percent for Georgia and 17.8 percent for the nation as a whole. The percentage increase in larceny reported between 1977-1981 was 48.2 percent for Georgia and 21.1 percent for the nation as a whole. (See Table 17.)
Changes in Crime Rates
Changes in crime rates must be interpreted with the understandingthat they are population dependent, the product of both changes in the number of crimes reported and changes in population. An increase or decrease in population may have greater impact on the crime rate than a change in the number of reported crimes. For example, a large increase in crime will be offset by a proportionately larger increase in population, producing a decrease in crime rate over the previous time period. (See Table 18.)
Seriousness of Crime
Although expressing the number of crimes committed as rates per 100,000 population provides some indication of the proportion of persons affected by crime, this approach is not always satisfactory or appropriate. For example, since persons under 15 years of age are not usually among the victims of Index crime, the actual seriousness of crime may be better expressed in terms of the number of potential victims, i.e., persons 15 years of age and older. Of course, crime rates based on such "risk populations" are higher than their corresponding standard rates because of the smaller division (see Table 19).

L

I

-

FIGURE 6

Five-Year Trend in Rates of Reported lndex Crimes, Georgia, 1977-1981

I

I

I

5416.9

Total lndex Crime

- I
5395.0

4259.1
- 3819.2
-
- 439.8
I

482.8
I

483 1.9 Total Property Crime

4862.9

Total Violent Crime

558.7

545.5

I

I

-
-
-
-
-
532.1
-
I

(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 13
CHANGES I N NUMBERS OF REPORTED INDEX CRIMES, GEORGIA, 1977-1981

Type of Crime 1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

- 1977
1981

Murder (% Change)
Forcible rape
(% Change)
Robbery (% Change)
Aggravated assault
(% Change)
Total violent crime (% Change)

22,203 (5.6)

24,545 (10.5)

28,594 (16.5)

29,803 (4.2)

29,598 (33.3) (-.7)

Burglary (% Change)
Larceny (% Change)
Motor vehicle theft
(% Change)
"Arson (% Change)
Total property crime (% Change)
- -
Total index crime (% Change)

192,795 (-11.6)

218,028
(13.1 1

-- -

214,998 (-10.1

242,573 (12.8)

248,641 (14.0)
277,235 (14.3)

263,975 (6.2)
293,778 (5.9)

270,491 (2.5) (40'3)
300,089 (39.6)*e
(2.1 1

"Atlanta Police Department does not report Arson offenses to the Georgia Crime Information Center.
* * A portion of the increase in the percent change from 1977 to 1981 in total Index crime i s due t o the inclusion of Arson as a Part I Offense for the first time in 1980. If Arson were excluded, the percent change would be 39.0%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center)

Table 14
CHANGES IN INDEX CRIME RATES PER 100,000 PERSONS GEORGIA, 1977-1981

Type of Crime 1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1981

Murder !% Change)
Forcible rape
(% Change)
Robbery (% Change)
Aggravated assault
(% Change)
Total violent crime
1% Change)

11.7 (-15.8)
31.1 (24.9) 140.5 (-1.3)
256.5 (6.0)
439.8 13.9)

14.4 (23.1
37.9 (21.9) 166.3 (18.4)
264.2 (3.0)
482.8 (9.8)

17.1 (18.8)
43.3 (14.2) 213.7 (28.5)
284.5 (7.7)

14.3 (-16.4)
46.0 (6.2) 199.2 (-6.8)
285.9 (.5)

558.7 115.7)

545.5 (-2.3)

1(45.'09) (28.2)

4(-43'.29) 1-0.8)

(42.1) (40.6)

275.3 (-3.7)

(7.3)

532.1 5

(21.0)

Burglary (% Change)
Larceny (% Change)
Motor vehicle theft
(% Change)
"Arson (% Change)
Total property crime (% Change)
Total index crime (% Change)

1,351.1 (-6.7)
2,170.2 (-17.11

1,475.6 (9.2)
2,456.3 (13.2)

297.9 (-6.8)
----

356.5 (19.7)
-----.------

3,819.2 (-12.9)

4,288.5 (12.3)

4,259.1 (-11.4)

4,771.3 (12.0)

1,594.0 (8.0)
2,847.9 (15.9)

1,616.8 (1.41
2,829.3 (-.6)

1,596.8 ( 12 )
2,918.3 3.1

(18.2) (34'5)

416.3 (16.8)
- - - - - - - - - - -

364.1 (-12.5)
21.7

324.7 (-10.8)
22 3 (2:81

(9'0)
(------4

4,858.2 4,831.9

486::)

(13.3)

(-5)

127.31

5,416.9 5,377.5*

(13.5)

b.7)

5,395.0 (26.7)XI (.3)

"Atlanta Police Department does not report Arson offenses to the Georgia Crime lnformation Center.
' * A portion of the increase in the percent change from 1977 to 1981 in total Index crime is due to the inclusion of Arson as a Part I offense for the first time in 1980. If Arson were excluded, the percent change would be 26.1%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 15
CHANGES IN NUMBERS AND RATES OF INDEX CRIMES, GEORGIA, SOUTH*, NATION, 1977-1981

Year
1977 Georgia South Nation
1978 Georgia South Nation
1979 Georgia South Nation
1980 Georgia South Nation
1981 Georgia South Nation
- 1977 Georgia
1981 South Nation

Total Number of index Crimes

Percentage Change

index Crime Rate

Percentage Change

"According t o the FBI designation, the South includes the states of Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
(Source: FBI, 1981 UCR System; Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 16
CHANGES I N RATES OF INDEX CRIMES,* GEORGIA, SOUTH, NATION, 1977-1981

Type of Crime

Georgia

1977

1981

South

1977

1981

Nation

1977

1981

Murder (% Change)
Forcible rape (% Change)

11.7 (28.2)
31.1 (42.1)

15.0 44.2

11.3 (12.4)
29.4 (28.6)

12.7 37.8

8.8 (11.4)
29.1 (22.3)

9.8 35.6

Robbery (% Change)

140.5

197.6

(40.6)

140.3

200.3

(42.8)

187.1

250.6

(33.91

Aggravated assault 256.5

275.3

(% Change)

(7.3)

270.8

313.3

(15.7)

241.5

280.9

(16.31

Total violent crime
(% Change)

439.8

532.1

(21.O)

451.8

564.1

(24.9)

466.6

576.9

(23.6)

Burglary (% Change)

1,351.1

1,596.8 1,336.1

1,614.3 1,410.9

1,632.1

(18.2)

(20.8)

(15.7)

Larceny (% Change)

2.1 70.2

2,918.3 2,524.7

2,954.1 2,729.9

3,122.3

(34.5)

(17.0)

(14.4)

Motor vehicle theft
(% Change)

297.9

324.7

(9.01

305.6

364.4

(19.2)

447.6

468.7

(4.71

Total property

crime

3,819.2

4,862.9

(% Change)

(27.3)

4,166.3

4,932.8

(18.4)

4,588.4

5,223.0

(13.8)

Total index crime (% Change)

4,259.1

5,395.0 4,618.1

5,496.9 5,055.1

5,799.9

(26.7)

(19.0)

(14.7)

*Arson collection as an Index offense was begun in 1979. Tabulations are not available for inclusion in this table.
(Source: FBI, 1981 UCR System; Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 17
CHANGES IN NUMBERS OF INDEX CRIMES* GEORGIA, SOUTH, NATION, 1977-1981

Type of Crime
Murder (% Change)
Forcible rape (% Change)
Robbery (% Change)
Aggravated assault (% Change)
Total violent crime (% Change)
Burglary (% Change)
Larceny (% Change)
Motor vehicle theft
(% Change)
Total property crime (% Change)
Total index crime (% Change)

1977

Georgia

1981

22,203 68,205 109,554 15,036

(33.3)

29,598

(30.2) (48.2)

88,822 162,368

(20.1)

18,061

192,795

270,491 (40.3)

21 4,998

300,089 (39.6)

1977

South

1981

315,559 933,221 1,763,430 213,451

(37.5)

433,779

(33.0) (28.8)

1,241,304 2,271,497

(31.3)

280,171

2,910,102

3,792,972 (30.3)

3,225,661

4,226,751 (31.O)

1977

Nation

1981

1,009,499 3,052,189 5,905,731
968,358

(30.9) (22.5) (21.I) (10.9)

1,321,906 3,739,821 7,154,541 1,073,988

9,926,278

(20.6)

1 1,968,350

10,935,777

(21.5)

13,290,256

"Arson collection as an lndex offense was begun in 1979. Tabulations are not available for inclusion in this table. (Source: FBI, 1981 UCR System; Georgia Crime lnformation Center)

Table 18

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIME AND POPULATION, GEORGIA, 1977-1981

Year

Population

Percentage Change

Number of Percentage Index Crimes Change

lndex Crime Rate

Percentage Change

"The large increase in population from 1979 to 1980 results from the use of population estimates for 1976-1979 and actual U.S. Census population for 1980.
(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 19 RATES FOR INDEX CRIMES BASED O N RISK POPULATIONS,* 1981

Type of Crime

Rate per 100,000 People*

Rate per 100,000 People 15 Years of Age and Over*

Murder Forcible rape iferrbdles only) Robbery Aggravated assault
p -
Total violent crime

197.6 275.3 532.1

260.7 363.1 701.9

Burglary Larceny Motor vehicle theft Arson
Total property crime
Total index crime

4,862.9 5,395.0

6,414.7 7.1 16.7

"Based on 1981 taral population report of 5,562,354 provided by the Office of Planning and Budget and for 15 years and over a total populat~onot 4,216,717.
iSource: Georgia Crime information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estirnatei
FIGURE 7
Comparison of Index Crime Rates
I ---- Georgia, Ssuth, Nation, 1977-1981 .---=-

Georgia

'77 '81 '77 '81 '77 '81
l Q T A L INDEX CRIME RATE

'77 '81 '77 '81 '77 '81
TOTAL VIOLENT CRIME RATE

'77 '81 '77 '81 '77 '81
TOTAL PROPERTY CRIME RATE

(Source: FBI, '1981 UCR System; Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Section II ARRESTS: TRENDS, CHARACTERISTICS, COMPARISONS
Numbers and rates of arrests are useful as measures of law enforcement activity and the official response t o crime. Of course, the policies and emphasis of law enforcement agencies influence the volume and type of arrests made, but arrest practices for serious crimes are relatively uniform, allowing comparisons over time. I t should be noted that because the same person can be arrested more than once during a year, annual arrest statistics do not reflect the number of persons taken into custody that year, rather they indicate the number of arrests made. Arrest statistics also provide some insight into the makeup of the criminal population, particularly in terms of the age, sex, and race of offenders.
The arrest data shown here reflect the actual number of arrests reported, not necessarily all those that took place.
ARREST TRENDS
During the period 1977-1981, the number of arrests made by Georgia's law enforcement agencies for Index crimes rose 33.8 percent. The ' number of arrests increased in all categories, particularly those for violent crimes (see Table 20 and Figure 8). Still, arrests are only made for a relatively small portion of reported crimes, 17.5 percent overall (see Table 21).
PROFILE OF PERSONS ARRESTED
Generally, young people aged 15-24 are arrested most frequently for property crimes. Persons aged 15-29 are arrested most frequently for violent crimes, with the exceptions of murder and aggravated assault which normally result in arrests of people over 35 years of age. Males are arrested more frequently than females, and non-whites generally

FIGURE 8
Five-Year Trend in Numbers of Reported Arrests, 1977-1981

46.7 13

49,125

52,578

-

-

-

12,310

12,819

13,200

-

Total Violent Crime

-

0

I

1977

I
1978

I
1979

I
1980

(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center)

13,5L66
I
1981

- I
-

-

-

--

-

-

-
-

+

I

FIGURE 9
Five-Year Trend in Arrest Rates, 1977-1981

I
904.2

1
937.3

- I
921.7

Total Index Crime

665.9

692.7
d

680.1 Crime

238.3

244.6

241.6

Total Violent Crime

I

I

I

I
- 945.2
- 4 -
- 701.4 m
-
-
-
243.9
-
-
1

(Source: Georgia Crime lnformation Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

more frequently than whites. See Table 22 for a profile of persons arrested in 1981, and Table 23 for arrest rates by age, sex, and race for 1981, and Table 24 for arrest rates for 1972-1981. Table 25 gives number of arrests for Index crimes, 1972-1981, by age group.
Table 20
CHANGES I N NUMBERS OF REPORTED ARRESTS, 1977-1981

Type of Crime
Murder (% Change)
Forcible rape (% Change)
Robbery (% Change)
Aggravated assault (% Change)
Total violent crime arrests (% Change)
Burglary (% Change)
Larceny (% Change)
Motor vehicle theft
(% Change)
Arson (% Change)
Total property crime arrests (% Change)
Total index crime arrests (% Change)

1977
578 (26.2)
683 (77.9) 2,190 (10.8) 6,593 (64.7)

10,044 (47.2)

12,310 12,819

(22.6)

(4.1 )

29,244 (11.8)

34,403 36,306

(17.6)

(5.5)

39,288 (19.2)

46,713 49,125

(18.9)

(5.2)

13,200 (3.0)
37,156 (2.3)
50,356 (2.5)

13,566 (2.8)
39,012 (5.0)
52.578 (4.4)

(35'1)
(33'4) (33,8)*

* A portion of increase in the percent change from 1977 to 1981 in total Index crime i s due to the inclusion of Arson as a Part I offense for the first time in 1980. If Arson were excluded, the percent change would be 32.9%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center)

Table 21
COMPARISON OF NUMBER OF REPORTED INDEX CRIMES AND NUMBER OF REPORTED INDEX CRIME ARRESTS, 1977-1981

Type Crime

1977

Number Reported

Number Arrests

1978

Number Reported

Number Arrests

1979
Number Reported

Number Arrests

1980
Number Reported

1981

Number Number Arrests Reported

Number Arrests

Murder Forcible rape
Robbery
Aggravated assault

593 1,570 7,094
12,946

578
(97.4) *
683 (43.5)
2,190 (30.8)
6,593 (50.9)

Total violent crlme

22,203

10,044

(45.2)

731

685

(93.7) *

1,928

826

(42.8)

8,454

2,723

(32.2)

13,432

8,076

(60.1 )

24,545

12,310

(50.1

877

764

(87.1) "

2,216

860

(38.8)

10.939

2,884

(26.3)

14,562

8.31 1

(57.0)

-

28,594

12,819

(44.8)

782

61 1

(78.1 )*

2,513

875

(34.8)

10,884

2,764

(25.3)

15,624

8,950

(57.2)

--

29,803

13,200

(44.2)

836

748

(89.5)"

2,459

935

(38.0)

10,991

2,998

(27.31

15,312

8,885

(58.0)

29,598

13,566

(45.8)

Burglary

68,205

Larceny

109,554

Motor vehicle

theft

15,036

A *son

8,717 (12.7)
18,401 (16.7)
21,126 (14.1)
--

75,022

10,534

(14.0)

124,880

21,202

(16.9)

18,126

2,667

(14.7)

81,579

10,243

(12.5)

145,758

23,222

(15.9)

21,304

2,841

(13.3)

88,328

10,976

(12.4)

154,567

23,346

(15.1)

19,891

2,543

(12.7)

88,822

10,748

(12.1)

162,368

25,556

(15.7)

18,061

2,325

(12.9)

Total property crime

192,795

29,244 (15.1)

21 8,028

343,403

(15.7)

248,641

36,306

(14.6)

263,975

37.1 56

(14.1)

270,491

39,012

(14.4)

Total index crime

21 4,998

39,288 242,573

46.71 3 277,235

49.1 25

(18.2)

(19.2)

(17.7)

"Arrests/Cr~mesRatlo-percentage o f crtmes reported t h a t resulted ~narrest. (Source Georg~aC r ~ m el n f o r m a t ~ o nCenter)

293,778

50,356

(17.1

--

300,089

52,578

(17.5)

Table 22 PROFILE OF PERSONS ARRESTED BY AGE, SEX, RACE, 1981

Tv~e crime
Murder Forcible rape Robbery Aggravated assault
Total violent crime
Burglary Larceny Motor vehicle theft Arson
Total property crime
Total index crime

14 and Under .5 %
2.1 .7
1 .I
1 .O 4.9 4.2 3.6 3.9
4.3

1519

AGE 20-24 25-29

3@34 35 and Over

11.9% 16.0 24.1

21.3% 30.8 32.5

19.5% 21.5 19.6

13.1% 15.2 12.6

33.7% 14.3 10.5

1 1 .O

21 .O

19.1 16.4

31.4

14.3
37.7 26.7
32.0 20.9

24.2
27.9 25.1
24.3 21.4

19.4
14.7 15.9
16.5 18.0

15.9
7.8 10.8
9.2 12.5

25.8
6.9 17.3
14.5 23.2

30.0

25.8

15.7 10.0

14.3

TYpe Crime
Murder Forcible rape Robbery Aggravated assault
Total violent crime
Burglary Larceny Motor vehicle theft Arson
Total property crime
Total index crime

SEX

Male

Female

78.8 80.5

21.2 19.5

RACE

White

Non-white

48.0 45.3

51.9 54.5

Note: Due t o rounding o r missing data, percentages d o n o t always total 100%.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center)

Table 23 ARREST RATES PER 100,000 PERSONS BY SPECIFIC AGE, SEX, RACE, 1981

Type Crime
Murder Forcible rape Robbery Aggravated assault
Total violent crime
Burglary Larceny Motor vehicle theft Arson
Total property crime
Total index crime

Total Arrest Rate
13.4 16.8 53.9 159.7
243.9
193.2 459.4
41.8 6.9
701.4

14 and Under .3
10.6 39.5 80.0
1 .I 126.7

15-19 16.8

AGE 20-24
30.9

25-29 29.8

30-34 21.2

367.1 766.4 1,289.7
15.1
2-211.8

637.0 582.7 1,244.8
15.9
1,952.8

537.8 323.7 832.1
14.1
1,248.4

449.6 181.9 596.6
10.4
835.5

--
TYp e Crime
Murder Forcible rape Robbery Aggravated assault
Total violent crime
Burglary Larceny Motor vehicle theft Arson
Total property crime
Total index crime

Male

SEX

Female

22.9 34.2 103 .O 270.7

4.6 .5
7.9 55.9

431 .O
374.6 677.3
79.4 12.2

68.9
23.5 255.6
6.6 1.9

1,143.5

287.6

1,574.5

356.5

White

RACE Non-white

7.4 7.3 23.5 89.7

127.8
132.9 291.8
35.6 6.6

357.9 912.5
7.9

466.9

1,337.5

594.7

(Source: Georgia Crlme l n f o r m a t l o n Center, Offlce o f Plannlng and Budget Population Estimate)

35 and Over 11.3
157.2 33.3 199.1
4.0 251.5

Year

Table 24 GEORGIA ARRESTS FOR INDEX CRIMES, 1972-1981

Violent Offenses

Number

Rate Per 100,000

Property Offenses

Number

Rate Per 100.000

Year

Index Crimes, by Race

Violent Offenses

White

Non-white

Property Offenses

White

Non-white

* A portion of the increase in property crime in 1980 is due to the inclusion of Arson as a Part I Offense for the first time. If Arson were excluded, the number of property offenses in 1980 would be 36,865 and the rate would be 674.8. In property offenses for whites, the 1980 total, excluding Arson, would be 18,182 and for non-whites the total would be 18,629.
" * i f Arson were excluded, the number of property offenses in 1981 would be 38,619 and the rate would be 694.3. In property offenses for whites, the 1981 total, excluding Arson, would be 18,452, and for non-whites the total would be 20.1 16.
(Source: Georgia Crime Information Center; Office of Planning and Budget Population Estimate)

Table 25 GEORGIA ARRESTS FOR INDEX CRIMES, 1972-1981, BY AGE GROUP

Age Group
Less than 14 Violent Property
15-19 Violent Property
20-24 Violent Property
25-29 Violent Property
30-34 Violent Property
35 and over Violent Property
Totals

1972
117 2,170
1,060 4,891
1,198 2,823
698 1,416
436 696
1,107 1,469 18,081

1973
174 2,402
1,155 5,734
1,326 3,102
817 1,413
492 808
1,222 1,480 20.1 25

1974
187 3,447
1,557 9,188
1,841 5,316
1,127 2,420
759 1,254
1,709 2,176 30,981

1975
153 2,980
1,309 8,298
1,743 4,685
1,082 2.31 3
699 1,213
1.51 1 2,123 28,109

1976
152 2,717
1,133 7,442
1,389 4,512
1,049 2,401
685 1,251
1,384 2,089 26,204

1977
153 2,994
1,658 10,267
2,363 6,592
1,789 3,663
1,324 2,027
2,757 3,701 39,288

1978
203 2,934
1,912 7.64 1
2,774 7,641
2,173 4,396
1,498 2,328
3,134 4,193 40,827

1979
138 2,538
2,130 1 1,674
3,150 8,864
2,350 5,006
1,688 2,901
3,191 4,682 48,315

1980
166 2,070
2,042 11,712
3,316 9,508
2,419 5,467
1,863 3,248
3,394 5,151 50,356

1981
142 1,705
1,940 1 1,688
3,283 10,064
2,633 6,112
2,074 3,854
3,494 5,589 52.578'

* A portion of the increase is due t o the inclusion of Arson as a Part I offense for the first time in 1980. I f Arson were excluded, the 1981 total would be 52,195.
(Source: Original data base: Uniform Crime Reporting Data Base, Georgia Crime Information Center)

Section Ill PUBLIC REACTION
The impact of crime is not limited t o those people who are victimized; the fear of becoming a victim i s widely held.
In response to their perceptions of crime, many people have begun t o develop behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes for avoiding victimization and for coping with fear. These actions can be classified generally as avoidance and as protective and collective response behaviors. Avoidance behavior most typically includes actions believed t o decrease exposure t o crime situations, such as refusing t o go t o certain areas or places believed t o be high risk areas, e.g., avoidance of central cities a t night. A 1977 survey in Michigan found that 66 percent of the respondents stated that there were places they would not go because of crime. While avoidance behavior i s practiced by many people, it is particularly prevalent among women and the elderly. Various victimization surveys have shown that from 69 t o 89 percent of elderly persons never go out a t night and that their fear of being victimized i s a key factor in making this decision. In addition, women and the elderly display patterns of avoiding certain circumstances or situations, such as refusing to talk to strangers and to give directions, crossing the street t o avoid crowds, and traveling in pairs. These patterns are reported with greater frequency now than 10 years ago. Clearly the public seeks t o avoid crime or possible victimization situations. Yet it is possible that these behaviors (i.e., avoidance of persons and places, noninvolvement, and anonymity) will intensify the fear of crime.
The public has also taken protective measures against criminal activity, especially against property offenses. Surveys i n major American cities have demonstrated that 40 t o 50 percent of households have engaged in "target-hardening" activities in the past few years in response t o actual or perceived threat of property crime. Of these actions, the most frequently reported was changing door locks. Other

protective actions include the use of an engraving pencil on property, asking neighbors to watch their dwellings, and the purchase of insurance covering vandalism and theft. These protective behaviors suggest that the public is willing t o spend money t o protect itself from what is perceived t o be a real threat. As people seek t o make their homes defensible and secure spaces, they also demonstrate a marked tendency t o isolate themselves from outsiders. During the past 10 years, national surveys consistently have shown that 84 t o 90 percent of households lock their doors, day or night. Although the data are mixed, many persons, especially the elderly, also report they will not open their doors t o any strangers.
The subject of gun ownership for defense has received considerable interest in the past 10 years. National public opinion surveys and the National Crime Survey have found that approximately 50 percent of the households in this country possess a firearm. Information gathered about firearms possession suggests that while the percent of armed households remains relatively stable, the number of weapons per household is increasing. The rate of handgun ownership (a defensive rather than sporting weapon) among gun-owning households increased approximately 10 percent during the 1970s. This increase may suggest that citizens are becoming more willing to possess a lethal form of defense t o protect themselves from a perceived crime threat.
An addition to individual avoidance and protective behaviors, citizens have increasingly begun to join together to make a collective response t o crime in the form of neighborhood groups, volunteer programs, and many other types of communal organizations. Although systematic data about this type of response are not available, the apparent success of many community-based crime prevention, detection, and law enforcement assistance programs suggests that people, especially in urban areas where crime rates are highest, have become more willing to take action against crime in their immediate surroundings. These national findings probably represent the experiences of many Georgians.

Section IV COUNTY CRIME PROFILES
lndex crime profiles for counties, shown in Table 28, were developed from 1981 reports submitted to the Georgia Crime Information Center by participating law enforcement agencies. County totals are actual numbers; estimates for unreported crime are not included. In addition, some agencies did not consistently submit crime reports for 1981 which, in effect, lowered their county's total.
COUNTY RANKINGS
Fulton, DeKalb, Chatham, and Cobb counties accounted for approximately one-half of all the Index crimes reported in Georgia in 1981.
Tables 26 and 27 list Georgia's 159 counties by their rankings in total lndex crimes reported and lndex crime rates, respectively. Great care should be exercised in any effort to interpret this data due to the existence of disparate reporting processes in some counties. However, a t least one law enforcement agency located within a majority of the counties does report to the Georgia Crime lnformation Center in accordance with established guidelines, and thus these data provide a useful and relatively accurate ranking of lndex crimes and lndex crime rates within the individual counties.

County
Fulton DeKalb Chatham Cobb Richmond Clayton Bibb Muscogee Gwinnett Clarke Dougherty Glynn Floyd Hall Whitfield Spalding Lowndes Houston Troup Douglas Tift Rockdale Bartow Thomas Sumter Carroll Walker Ware Cherokee Liberty Newton Catoosa Laurens Crisp Colquitt Coweta Peach Bulloch Gordon Coffee Henry Polk Forsyth Baldwin Burke Walton Columbia Decatur Barrow Ben Hill Stephens Monroe Paulding

Table 26 RANKING O F COUNTIES BY NUMBER OF REPORTED INDEX CRIMES, 1981

Number of Reported Index Crimes
79,275 30,368 19,210 18,333 11,230 10,789 10,524
8,909 7,974 7,029 6,923 4,637 4,001 3,987 3,686 3,150 2,910 2,833 2,599 2,370 2,046 1,847 1,725 1,637 1,628 1,588 1,573 1,552 1,371 1,336 1,325 1,296 1,263 1,208 1,147 1,099 1,094 1,083 1,080 1,070 1,059 1,040 1,008
995 929 923 920 838 745 731 683 633 616

County
Chattooga Emanuel Washington Fayette Worth Jackson Wayne Camden Mitchell Murray Haralson Harris Jones Cook Toombs Elbert Berrien Bacon Upson Lamar Terrell Mclntosh Putnam Fannin McDuffie Bryan Madison Grady Franklin Effingham Wil kes Seminole Pulaski Greene Jefferson Brooks Early Gilrner Appling White Turner Jenkins Dade Hart Jeff Davis Butts Morgan Lee Dawson Lurnpkin Irwin Pickens Banks

Number of Reported Index Crimes
597 592 580 577 542 540 520 468 464 453 408 400 385 38 1 380 376 348 327 326 318 309 309 290 282 282 268 262 259 251 24 1 240 239 235 232 218 218 218 206 205 205 203 198 193 185 185 184 177 172 168 162 160 159 155

County
Jasper Charlton Screven Brantley Taylor Tattnall Bleckley Clinch Miller Lincoln Heard Pike Lanier Candler Rabun Randolph Dodge Calhoun Pierce Macon Telfair Habersham Crawford Wilcox Clay Evans Baker Dooly Talbot Union Meriwether Webster Wheeler Stewart Marion Quitman Treutlen Chattahoochee Atkinson Hancock Johnson Towns Twiggs Taliaferro Glascock Long Montgomery Oconee Schley Warren Wilkinson Oglethorpe Echols

Number of Reported lndex Crimes
142 141 137 136 131 128 112 110 101 101 100
99 99 83 80 80 71 69 63 63 63 57 54 48 44 35 27 26 22 21 16 11
9 5 5 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

County
Fulton Chatham Clarke Glynn Clayton Bibb Doughtery Spalding DeKalb Tift Richmond Cobb Peach Whitfield Sumter Crisp Muscogee Hall Troup Floyd Burke Rockdale Ben Hill Gwinnett Thomas Monroe Lowndes Bartow Ware Douglas Mclntosh Coffee Newton Houston Gordon Forsyth Dawson Bacon Catoosa Carnden Barrow Liberty Laurens Decatur Colquitt Polk Stephens Washington Bulloch Worth Walton Baldwin Emanuel

TABLE 27

RANKING OF COUNTIES BY INDEX CRIME RATES PER 100,000 PERSONS, 1981

Index Crime Rate per 100,000 Persons

County
Cook Henry Carroll Walker Putnam Coweta Chattooga Pulaski Seminole Lamar Terrell Berrien Cherokee Bryan Harris Wayne Paulding Jones Murray Jenkins Haralson Columbia Wilkes Mitchell Turner Jackson Greene White Elbert Fannin Charlton Jasper Gilmer Fayette Irwin Banks Lanier Toombs Taylor Clinch Early Franklin Jeff Davis Dade Madison Brantley Heard Morgan McDuffie Lumpkin Lincoln Miller Brooks

Index Crime Rate per 100.000 Persons

County
Lee Pickens Butts Appling Grady Effingham Upson Clay Calhoun Jefferson Candler Pike Bleckley Hart Screven Randolph Rabun Baker Tattnall Crawford Wilcox Telfair Pierce Webster Macon Dodge Evans Talbot Dooly Habersham Union Wheeler Quitman Stewart Marion Meriwether Towns Treutlen Atkinson Johnson Twiggs Hancock Chattahoochee Echols Ogiethorpe Taliaferro Glascock Long Schley Oconee Montgomery Wil kinson Warren

--

-

lndex Crime Rate per 100.000 Persons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Appling 1980 1981
Atkinson 1980 1981
Bacon 1980 1981
Baker 1980 1981
Baldwin 1980 1981
Banks 1980 1981
Barrow 1980 1981
Bartow 1980 1981
Ben Hill 1980 1981
Berrien 1980 1981
Bibb 1980 1981
Bleckley 1980 1981
Brantley 1980 1981
Brooks 1980 1981
Bryan 'I 980 1981
Bullach 1980 1981
Burke 1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle Thefts

Arsons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Butts 1980 1981
Calhoun 1980 1981
Carnden 1980 1981
Candler 1980 1981
Carroll 1980 1981
Catoosa 1980 1981
Charlton 1980 1981
Chatharn 1980 1981
Chattahoocl 1980 1981
Chattooga 1980 1981
Cherokee 1980 1981
Clarke 1980 1981
Clay 1980 1981
Clayton 1980 1981
Clinch 1980 1981
Cobb 1980 1981
Coffee 1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle
Thefts

Arsons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Colquitt 1980 1981
Columbia 1980 1981
Cook 1980 1981
Coweta 1980 1981
Crawford 1980 1981
Crisp 1980 1981
Dade 1980 1981
Dawson 1980 1981
Decatur 1980 1981
DeKalb 1980 1981
Dodge 1980 1981
Dooly 1980 1981
Dougherty 1980 1981
Douglas 1980 1981
Early 1980 1981
Echols 1980 1981
Effingham 1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

1,061

84

977

1

1,147

87

1,060

2

8

18

9

29

1,110

85

1,025

3

12

25

920

58

862

1

5

14

307

33

274

4

3

7

38 1

46

335

1

3

8

955

6 1

894

3

1,099

9 1

1,008

7

2

20

3

28

30

4

26

0

2

0

54

4

50

0

1

1

925

117

808

4

1,208

164

1,044

1

5

24

4

3 1

228

13

21 5

5

4

3

193

12

181

3

1

6

143

1

142

0

0

0

168

7

161

0

1

2

57

360

56 1

47

398

615

45

42 1

536

38

308

51 4

19

107

153

34

113

196

36

303

55 1

53

319

640

2

10

14

2

16

28

84

31 1

47 1

128

40 1

59 7

1

86

71

2

60

84

1

50

73

4

57

93

Motor Vehicle Thefts

Arsons

54

2

44

3

64

4

35

5

13

1

2 1

5

33

7

44

5

2

0

6

0

25

1

42

4

58

0

37

0

18

1

9

2

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Elbert 1980 1981
Emanuel 1980 1981
Evans 1980 1981
Fannin 1980 1981
Fayette 1980 1981
Floyd 1980 1981
Forsyth 1980 1981
Franklin 1980 1981
Fulton 1980 1981
Gilmer 1980 1981
Glascock 1980 1981
Glynn 1980 1981
Gordon 1980 1981
Grady 1980 1981
Greene 1980 1981
Gwinnett 1980 1981
Habersham 1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle Thefts

Arsons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Hall
1980 1981
Hancock
1980 1981
Haralson
1980 1981
Harris
1980 1981
Hart
1980 1981
Heard
1980 1981
Henry
1980 1981
Hcuston
1980 1981
~TWIJ
1980 1981
Jackson
l98Q 1981
Jasper
1980 1981
Jetf Davis
2 980 1981
Jefferson
1980 1981
Jenkins
1980 1981
.lohnson
1980 1981
Jones 1980 1981
Lamar
1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle
Thefts

Arsons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Lanier
1980 1981
Laurens
1980 1981
Lee
1980 1981
Liberty
1980 1981
Lincoln
1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle
Thefts

Arsons

23

3

20

0

0

0

99

16

83

2

0

6

1,280 109 1,171

1

1,263 115 1,148

1

14

35

10

30

150

14

136

1

3

3

172

10

162

5

1

2

1,198 129 1,069

2

18

33

1,336 128 1,208

2

15

3 1

8 1

5

76

0

1

0

101

4

97

1

0

0

3

9

9

8

20

49

59

299

832

74

324

766

7

52

7 2

2

66

83

76

37 1

641

80

407

74 1

4

40

34

3

45

47

2

0

8

6

39

1

46

12

12

0

7

6

51

6

55

5

1

1

5

0

Lowndes
1980 1981
Lumpkin
1980 1981

3,302 175 3,027

3

2,910 199 2,711

4

212

20

192

0

162

20

142

2

12

88

19

104

0

2

0

5

72

954

1979

185

9

72

782

1,815

103

11

18

69

100

21

2

13

65

60

11

6

Mclntosh
7980 1981
Macon
1980 1981
Madison
1980 1981
Marion 1980
1981

8

2

6

0

0

0

309

29

280

0

1

9

190

12

178

0

1

4

57

6

51

0

0

1

298

18

280

1

3

5

262

15

247

0

0

1

31

3

28

1

0

0

5

2

3

1

0

0

2

4

1

19

139

129

7

78

93

5

20

27

9

126

136

14

113

117

2

9

15

1

3

0

1

0

12

0

7

0

4

0

17

1

14

3

2

2

0

0

Mitchell
1980 1981
Monroe
1980 $981

336

44

393

5

464

34

430

0

48 1

55

426

1

633

99

534

3

2

1

I

4

1

16

5

17

35

96

286

29

110

309

37

147

252

74

179

324

10

1

8

3

23

4

26

5

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Montgomery
1980 1981
Morgan
1980 1981
Murray
1980 1981
Muscogee
1980 1981
Newton
1980 1981
fconee
1980 1981
Oglethorpe
1980 1981
Peuld~ng
1980 1981
Peach
1980 1981
P~ckens
1980 1981
Pierce
1980 1981
Pbke
1980 1981
Polk
1980 1981
Pulaski
I gao 1981
D~~tiiarn
1980 1981
Qultrnan
1980 1981
Rabun
1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle
Thefts

Arsons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Randolph 1980 1981
Richmond 1980 1981
Rockdale 1980 1981
Schley 1980 1981
Screven 1980 1981
Seminole 1980 1981
Spalding 1980 1981
Stephens 1980 1981
Stewart 1980 1981
Surnter 1980 1981
Talbot 1980 1981
Taliaferro 1980 1981
Tattnall 1980 1981
Taylor 1980 1981
Telfair 1980 1981
Terrell 1980 1981
Thornas 1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle Thefts

Arsons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
Tift 1980 1981
Toombs 1980 1981
Towns 1980 1981
Treutlen 1980 1981
Troup 1980 1981
Turner 1980 1981
Tmtggs 1980 1981
Union 1980 1981
Upson 1980 1981
Walker 1980 1981
Walton 1980 1981
Ware 9 980 1981
Warren 1980 1981
Vdashlngton 1980 1981
in'ayne 1980 1981
Webster 1980 1981
Wheeler 1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle Thefts

Arsons

Table 28-COUNTY CRIME PROFILES

County
White 1980 1981
Whitfield 1980 1981
Wilcox 1980 1981
Wilkes 1980 1981
Wil kinson 1980 1981
Worth 1980 1981

Index Violent Property Crimes Crimes Crimes

Murders

Forcible

Aggravated

Rapes Robberies Assaults Burglaries Larcenies

Motor Vehicle Thefts

Arsons

147

0

147

0

0

0

205

1

204

0

0

0

3,559

257

3,302

8

2 1

59

3,686

261

3,425

10

17

59

0

36

103

7

1

1

72

109

23

0

169

942

1,917

175

956

2,122

40 1

42

31 3

34

Appendix DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

In order t o control for population differences, and thus make descriptions and comparisons between jurisdictions and over time more accurate and meaningful, Index crimes and arrests are often expressed as a rate, i.e., specifically, the number of crimes or arrests reported for each 100,000 people.

Formula for calculating crime and arrest rates:

Crime (arrest)

rate for

- Number of crimes (arrests)

X 100,000

jurisdiction

Total population of jurisdiction or group

or group

The necessity of controlling for population differences can be seen in the following example. In 1978, Coffin City reported 95 murders, while Pleasantville had 53. On the basis of this fact alone, a casual observer would probably conclude that murder is much more of a problem i n Coffin City than Pleasantville, there being twice as many. Such a conclusion would not be accurate, however, because the populations of the two cities were not considered. Suppose that Coffin City has 150,000 people, yielding a murder rate per 100,000 people of 63.3, while Pleasantvillers population is only 40,000, producing a murder rate per 100,000 people of 132.5. Clearly, the opposite conclusion is warranted since a murder is twice as likely t o happen in Pleasantville as in Coffin City.

Another measure, the annual percent change in the number or rate of Index crimes or arrests, is a comparative statistic useful for identifying trends in yearly data.

Formula for calculating percent change:

Percent change over -- X2 - XI

previous year

XI

Where: X i = Number, rate of crimes, arrests in previous year

X2 = Number, rate of crimes, arrests in present year.