Violent crime up in Dalton through August

Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Violent crime was up for the year through August in Dalton compared to the same period in 2023, but property crime and vehicle crashes were down, according to data recently presented to the city’s Public Safety Commission.

The commission members oversee the city’s police and fire departments.

There were 48 violent crimes through August, up from 43 in the same period in 2023. Violent crime includes homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

There were 471 property crimes, down from 548 in the same period in 2023.

There were no homicides through August, which was unchanged from the same period in 2023; 10 rapes reported through August, down from 14 in the same period in 2023; seven robberies, unchanged from 2023; 46 burglaries, up from 36; 21 motor vehicle thefts, down from 26; and 31 aggravated assaults, up from 22 in the same period in 2023.

There were 123 vehicle crashes in August, up from 111 in the previous month. Year-to-date, there were 929 crashes, down from 946 in the same period last year.

In August, Dalton police officers responded to 27 crashes with injuries. Those crashes resulted in 33 people injured with two serious injuries and no fatalities.

Failure to yield played a role in 29 crashes, and following too closely played a role in 25.

Fridays had the most crashes with 25, followed by Thursdays with 24. Sundays had the fewest crashes with 11. The period from 4 to 6:59 p.m. had the most crashes with 29.

Walnut Avenue had the most crashes with 29.

The Dalton Fire Department answered 365 calls in August, according to data presented to the commissioners. Of those, 216 were medical.

Twenty-two calls were for motor vehicle wrecks with injuries, and 11 were for motor vehicle wrecks without injuries. Five were for gas leaks. Thirty calls were canceled while firefighters were on their way.