It’s hard to feel good about a reduction in the crime rate because any crime at all is a bad thing. But St. Charles Parish is going against the grain of many areas by reducing its overall crime in 2010 by 5.8 percent from 2009. Total numbers fell from 2,456 to 2,313.

An exception was in our murder rate which increased from one to three. And that included one of the most heinous acts ever committed locally when a 77-year-woman was stabbed and beaten to death in her Norco home on Nov. 26.

But lower figures were significant in other violent crimes. Rapes totalled seven compared to 12 the year before and assaults were down three percent from 894 to 866. Burglaries were down 14 percent from 425 to 366 while thefts went down 5.6 percent from 1,016 to 959. Robberies increased by one from 23 to 24.

While any amount of crime is too much crime, we are pleased with the decreases and hope for a continuation of the trend.
We must credit our sheriff’s department for that improvement. Our law enforcers have been alert and responsive in reacting to threats of criminal activity.

And Sheriff Greg Champagne doesn’t hesitate to keep people informed regularly about the possibilities of crime. This encourages the people to join in helping them enforce the law.

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