Last year, St. Charles Parish experienced the lowest number of crimes in nearly three decades, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting System.
The year saw a decrease in six of the seven categories of crime, with the number of murders, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts and auto thefts all lower than they were in 2022. There was a 50 percent decrease in robberies, a 38 percent drop in burglaries and a a nearly 33 percent fall in the number of auto thefts.
The crime numbers in 2023 were the lowest reported in 28 years.
“We have a group of well-trained, dedicated and motivated men and women in uniform who take crime prevention and apprehension personally and seriously as they live and raise their families here,” St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said.
Champagne also credited technology advancements, especially in the case of home and business surveillance cameras, and the use of social media for the decrease in crime.
“Home and business video surveillance cameras can deter criminals from committing a crime and can be used to help identify suspects who commit crimes,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office maintains a confidential database of security cameras and nformation about participants in the program remains anonymous. Those interested in registering the security cameras at their home or business should go to www.stcharlessheriff.org and select the “Security Camera Database” option on the menu beneath the Social Media Updates section.
“In the event of a crime on or near your property, detectives may ask to review your surveillance video recorded during a specific timeframe to help in the evidence-gathering process,” Champagne said. “The database builds a safety net around St. Charles Parish that grows with each new registration and continues to be a powerful resource for fighting crime.”
Champagne said the Sheriff’s Office uses social media and the office’s app to remind residents to lock their car and home and to remove valuables from their vehicles. They also use both the app and social media to share information about scams, identify suspects and locate wanted and missing people and runaways.
“We have received tips from information shared on social media as well,” Champagne said. “We appreciate our citizens, who in most cases do not hesitate to provide information about suspicious behavior, actual and potential crime, and the perpetrators thereof.
“Cooperation and assistance from the public are essential in the fight against crime.”
Champagne also credited community outreach efforts for the low crime, since these efforts help the public build strong relationships with law enforcement.
Some of these include the Sheriff Office’s DARE program, Eat on the Beat, summer camps and the work of school resource officers. Champagne also credited the work of St. Charles Parish District Attorney Joel Chaisson II.
“We have the full cooperation of our district attorney and his assistants who are working diligently to prosecute and imprison those career repeat offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime,” Champagne said.
Overall, the number of murders dropped from six to five from 2022 to 2023, while the number of robberies fell from 22 to 11 over the same time period. There were 544 assaults in 2022 compared to 512 last year. Thefts fell from 499 to 439, while auto thefts decreased from 80 to 54. There were 126 burglaries reported in 2022 and 78 reported last year.
The only statistic that increased was rapes, which rose from three in 2022 to five in 2023.
