By CAROLINE CARMICHAEL / Staff Writer

The Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, Clanton Police Department and Clanton Fire Department have released their incident statistics for 2017.

Reports reveal an overall decreases in incidents reported to CCSO and CFD and an increase in incidents reported to CPD.

The following presents the increases and decreases in crime and other reported incidents, as compared to 2016 statistics.

Chilton County Sheriff’s Office reports:

A comparison of 2016 and 2017 CCSO incident reports reveals an overall decrease in criminal activity in 2017, dropping from 34,733 total calls to the CCSO in 2016 to 33,341 total calls in 2017.

That’s approximately a 4 percent decrease.

Significant incidents, which have decreased in the last year, include assault, altered mental statuses, drug related incidents, missing persons and sexual assault, according to the reports.

Reports note:

• 203 assaults in 2016 and 176 assaults in 2017
• 259 accounts of altered mental status in 2016 and 201 in 2017
• 97 drug related incidents in 2016 and 91 in 2017
• 82 missing persons in 2016 and 59 in 2017
• 21 sexual assaults in 2016 and 14 in 2017

Burglary reports revealed a slight increase from 220 cases in 2016 to 223 in 2017. Thefts increased from 499 in 2016 to 521 in 2017 and wrecks with injuries increased from 106 in 2016 to 122 in 2017.

A full list of CCSO calls can be found at chiltoncountyso.org.

Clanton Police Department reports:

Overall, the Clanton Police Department experienced a 5.9 percent increase of incidents in 2017, as compared to 2016.

Several of its most notable increases included a 400 percent increase in robbery, a 110 percent increase in counterfeiting or forgery and a 60 percent increase in fraud. Sex offenses were increased by 100 percent, from four cases in 2016 to eight cases in 2017.

CPD decreases included a 25 percent decrease in stolen property, bringing 2016’s 20 cases down to 15 cases. Destruction of property saw a decrease by 30.2 percent, slinking from 126 cases in 2016 to 88 cases in 2017.

Clanton Fire Department reports:

In 2017, the Clanton Fire Department received fewer calls for assistance than the previous year. CFD records reveal that the department received 1,314 emergency medical calls in 2017 — which is down from 1,484 in 2016.

Chief David Driver suggested this number is impacted by the presence of St. Vincent’s Chilton.

“In my opinion, now that we have a local hospital, more people are going by private auto to the emergency room, rather than calling 911,” Driver said.

Perhaps with the apparent decrease in criminal activity and other calls of emergency, Chilton County residents can be hopeful for a continued decrease throughout the new year.