MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb put in a lot of work with various initiatives to reduce crime, including the Macon Violence Prevention Program and ShotSpotter gunfire-detection system.
But the final numbers for the year show there is a long way to go, as most types of violent crime were way up in 2022.
The preliminary report from the Bibb County Sheriff's Office says violent crime rose 15% last year.
This includes a significant increase in criminal homicide, up 28%; commercial robberies, up 23%; aggravated assaults, up 26% and all other assaults up 11%.
Property crime also rose last year by 8%. This includes more commercial and home burglaries, auto thefts and auto break-ins.
Put it all together, and someone commits a violent crime in Macon-Bibb about once every two hours, and a property crime occurs in the county about once every 55 minutes.
Those crime stats are reported yearly to the FBI. We've also reported on Warner Robins' crime totals for the year, and we'll report those as soon as they're available.