LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — The Lafayette Police Department (LPD) is reporting 2019 crime stats as being the lowest the city has seen in since 2013, though homicides saw a sharp increase and burglaries saw a modest increase.
The Uniform Crime Reporting statistics released by the LPD state that homicides are up 55% over 2018 (an increase from 9 homicides to 14). The only other crime statistic to see an increase over 2018 was burglaries, which increased by 1%.
Rapes decreased by 24%, while auto theft decreased by 16%. Theft was down 8%, while Robbery was down 6%.
The number of total arrests was up over 2018, especially in the juvenile sector. Arrests under age 18 were up by 22%, though they represent a much smaller percentage of overall arrests. Adult arrests were up 5%, bringing the total arrest rate up by 6% overall.
The statistics also show that crime has fallen steadily or stayed flat since a high in 2013. Crime statistics remained flat from 2017 to 2018, falling seven percentage points in 2019.
