Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office reveals crime on the decline
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Living in a safe community is a top priority for everyone.
There are times when it seems like maybe one community over the other is feeling the brunt of crime.
On May 7, we brought the story of statistics from the Columbus Police.
“People would ask me, Where are you from? ‘ and I would tell them Columbus, and you would always hear a response that’s where all the shootings and the crime are happening,” Eddie Hawkins said.
It’s a phrase Lowndes Sheriff Eddie Hawkins has heard over and over. Now, he’s using statistics to prove another story.
“I want people in the community to understand that’s not actually the case,” Hawkins said.
The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department has seen fewer incidents and calls for service.
From 2020 until 2023, the agency averaged about 25,000 calls for service each year.
Last year, that number was slashed to just over 15,000.
Hawkins said, despite the declining trend, it’s important for his agency to stay focused. Most of the laws broken are property crimes.
“There’s always room for improvement, and we are going to continue to keep doing the things that we feel are going to help improve our crime rate in Lowndes County and reduce the number of crimes that we see,” Hawkins said. “Because our main goal is to protect and serve our community and make sure that we can let everybody have a nice place that they can live and raise their family.”
Over the past four years, the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center has averaged 260 inmates a day. On May 8, there are 125 people behind bars.
Hawkins said strategies like hiring more deputies, adding computers to patrol cars, surveillance cameras, and Crime Stoppers have helped lower the numbers.
“We are starting to see a decline in our crime statistics here in Lowndes County,” Hawkins said. “We have our own issues just like any other community but we are doing something positive and trying to reduce the crime here and we are going to continue that same thing and try to keep everybody safe here in Lowndes County.”
Hawkins believes various things play a role in crime, as certain neighborhoods suffer more than most.
He also said poverty, education, limited economic opportunities, and drugs play a role in crimes.
