Crime was below its five-year average in Dalton through the end of March, according to data presented to the city’s Public Safety Commission on Tuesday. But car crashes were up.
The commission oversees the city’s police and fire departments.
There were 226 Part 1 crimes such as homicide, motor vehicle theft and burglary through March, compared to the five-year average of 247 for the period.
There were 1,253 Part 2 crimes like fraud, vandalism, drug possession and drug sales, down from the five-year average of 1,315.
There were 13 violent crimes through the end of March, under the five-year average of 19. Violent crime includes homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Property crimes were down to 213, from the five-year average of 228.
There were zero homicides through the end of March, which was down from one in 2022; five rapes reported, up from one in 2022; one robbery, down from three; 12 burglaries, down from 15; 12 motor vehicle thefts, down from 16; and seven aggravated assaults, down from 14.
Forgery/counterfeiting rose to 27 from 23 in 2022; liquor violations fell to 20 from 22; and public drunkenness fell to 26 from 32.
There were 355 motor vehicle crashes through the end of March, compared to a five-year average of 344 and to 351 for the same period in 2022.
For the month of March, there were 134 crashes reported, up from 90 in February.
Dalton police officers responded to 34 crashes with injuries in March, up from 22 crashes with injuries in February, 28 crashes with injuries in January and 30 crashes with injuries in December. Those crashes resulted in 34 people injured, up from 28 people injured in February. There were two serious injuries in those crashes in March and one fatality.
Failure to yield played a role in 32 crashes and following too closely played a role in 30 crashes. Those were the two most common contributing factors in crashes in March.
There were five DUI crashes in March, up from four in February. Thursdays saw the most crashes, with 25, and Saturdays and Sundays the fewest, with 13 each.
Angle crashes were the most common in March, with 54, followed by rear end, with 49, and sideswipe/same direction and collision with an object, with 12 each. The greatest number of crashes took place between 4 and 6:59 p.m., with 32, followed by 6 to 8:59 a.m. and 2 to 3:59 p.m. with 23 each.
Morning and evening rush hours, along with the early afternoon lunch time, typically account for the most crashes.
Walnut Avenue had the most crashes with 22, followed by Chattanooga Road with 15. Those two roads typically account for the most crashes because of the amount of traffic on them.
The Dalton Fire Department answered 294 calls in March, according to data provided to the commission. Of those, 163 were medical calls.
Twenty-eight were canceled while firefighters were on the way. Fourteen were for motor vehicle wrecks with injuries.