St. Charles Parish 2020 UCR Crime Statistics

Sheriff Greg Champagne reports that for the first time in 3 years, overall crime increased in St. Charles Parish during calendar year 2020.

From January through December of 2020, the total number of crimes according to Uniform Crime Reports (U.C.R.) rose from 1316 in 2019 to 1648 in 2020 – a 25% increase.

According to Sheriff Greg Champagne, “The positive news is that the crime rate, after four years of substantial decreases, is still relatively low, and roughly equivalent to the level of crime we experienced in 2016.    2020 was still the fourth best (lowest) crime year in the last 24 years. Unfortunately, after a series of great years with crime steadily decreasing, an average year will appear to be one in which crime substantially increased even though it is still a decent year in accordance with long-term trends,” Sheriff Champagne noted.

The F.B.I. tracks crime as reported by local law enforcement in seven categories – murder, rape, robbery, assault, theft, burglary and auto theft.

From 2019 to 2020, the following changes in crime are noted:

Crime Changes

All Stats

“Sadly, during the entirety of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the two areas primarily responsible for the increase in crime are in the categories of assaults and thefts,” Sheriff Champagne noted.  “Domestic violence calls are very high, and it seems theft has increased as well.”  Murder has remained consistently low over the last several decades. While the crime of Rape appears to have a drastic increase (50%), the total number of rapes on an annual basis is extremely low and in single digits.

Sheriff Champagne continued by stating, “during 2020, Law Enforcement throughout this nation faced many challenges and was even under attack as a result of both Covid-19 and the unrest across the nation. Many of these changes, in addition to drastic lifestyle changes to citizens throughout our country, have resulted in a rise in crime in communities.  St. Charles Parish was no exception to this.”  

There is no one factor that leads to a rise in crime, but rather a totality of circumstances.  Everyone was affected throughout 2020, and St. Charles Parish as a community has done its best to continue pushing through what is been a difficult time worldwide.

“I think we are all hopeful that the light is at the end of the tunnel and we can all begin to return to a more “normal” lifestyle in 2021,” Sheriff Champagne concluded. 

To view more UCR Crime Stats for St. Charles Parish, you can click the links below:

As always, we are honored to serve and protect the communities within St. Charles Parish.  We will continually strive to find new ways to further reducing crime in all areas.