Contributed
Sheriff James A. McVicker recently reported an overall reduction in violent crimes in Bladen for 2021 as opposed to 2020.
“These last two years have resulted in an increase in some crimes and a decrease in others because of the social distancing and isolations our society has gone through,” said Sheriff McVicker.
“Overall we have seen crime drop between 2021 and 2020 even when many restrictions were lifted, and society returned to a more normal social condition with schools and businesses resuming a more normal schedule.”
McVicker pointed to the Uniform Crime Report put out by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. These two agencies track certain violent crimes and use those as an indicator of overall crime in a geographic area of the state, usually a municipality or a county.
The Violent Crimes Index includes Murder, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Larceny, Motor Vehicle Theft and Arson.
Breaking these categories down, Bladen county had five murders in 2020 and five in 2021, so the percentage neither increased or decreased.
There were 15 rapes/sexual assaults reported in 2020 and 9 reported in 2021, a decline of 6 percent.
Robberies increased from 7 in 2020 to 8 reported in 2021, an increase of 1 percent. Aggravated Assaults declined by 7 percent going from 115 reported in 2020 to 80 reported in 2021.
Burglaries (residential and business) showed a decline of 7 percent, from 172 reported in 2020 to 132 reported in 2021.
There were 267 larcenies reported in 2020 and 248 in 2021, a decrease of 9 percent.
Motor Vehicle Thefts showed an overall decline from 41 reported in 2021 as opposed to 64 in 2020.
Arson dropped 1 percent from 5 in 2020 to 4 in 2021.
Crime rates were affected by the pandemic just as many areas of society were affected.
Law enforcement agencies saw an increase in overall domestic violence because families were sheltered in place for long periods, and the stress factors increased, causing more fights and arguments.
“My deputies and I work hard every year to bring crime down in Bladen. We, like so many other businesses and government agencies are finding it harder to recruit and keep employees,” McVicker said, “We work hard to maintain a full staff and recruit statewide.”
Like many small agencies, we cannot compete with larger counties who can offer higher salaries.”
In closing, McVicker said, “I was elected to maintain law and order in Bladen county, and I feel I have done that and will continue to work to improve our record. My goal is to keep our citizens and their property safe and ensure our children and grandchildren can live in a climate where they do not fear going to school or playing in their neighborhoods.”
About Author
