According to the Mississippi Crime Statistics, there were 337 reported cases of robbery in Mississippi in 2023, with 36.2% of them occurring in a person’s place of residence. Of those incidents reported, officials solved 25.22% of them.
In addition, there were 2,336 aggravated assault cases in Mississippi last year, 60% of which also took place within a house or place of residence, and 50.4% of which were committed by an unknown offender.
While these statistics are alarming, it is also noteworthy that the crime rates for both robbery and aggravated assaults are decreasing, with both robbery and aggravated assault down 24.10% and 25.44%, respectively, since 2022.
Many factors could have caused the decrease in crime rates, but the Starkville Police Department believes increased communication between law enforcement and citizens has contributed to the decrease in crime in Starkville.
Mark Ballard, the chief of police in Starkville, attributed part of that success to an online campaign to which his officers have dedicated their time, resources and personality.
Every night at 9 p.m., the Starkville Police Department sends out a post from their social media accounts reminding people to lock their doors, windows and cars, turn on outside lights and close their garages if they have one.
Ballard explained that the 9 p.m. safety check was founded in 2018 to help reduce the rates of break-ins, burglaries and property damage.
“It is a proactive attempt to remind people in their day-to-day activities to take one simple step to go and lock their vehicles to take their property, their valuables out of the vehicle and simply lock the door,” Ballard.
Ballard said he is satisfied by his and his officers’ hard work this year to reduce the number of crimes committed.
“We are experiencing fewer property crimes than in years past,” Ballard said. “I do not want to jinx it so close to the last part of it, but it has been a much better year than previous years in regards to property crime.”
Scott Lomax is the sergeant of investigations for the Starkville Police Department. Lomax considers the safety notification to be a helpful reminder.
“I think that reminder comes across as ‘Hey, I forgot to do this, let me go do this,’ which in turn gives me accountability for my property,” Lomax said. “Everybody gets so busy in their day-to-day routine, we all need reminders to do something important.”
Ballard said that, while crime is a serious matter, he encourages his officers to have fun with their nightly posts and infuse a sense of humor and reliability into their messages.
“I think our officers have embraced it,” Ballard said. “If you look on social media, you will see different humor being used with its Halloween themes for this time of year.”
Ballard said that despite his officers’ efforts to protect the city of Starkville, the police can not be everywhere at once. If they are going to prevent a rise in property damage or theft, they need Starkville residents to take responsibility for their safety and property.
“I think it has helped, and the reason why I say that is because when we go to the community, we speak to community events,” Ballard said. “So, I know that the community is becoming very aware and reminding each other.”
Victoria Meyers is a freshman majoring in veterinary medicine at Mississippi State University. She said the 9 p.m. safety check is a great use of social media to connect with the citizens of Starkville and help Starkville PD appear more human.
“I think it is a great idea because I am sure many people do not remember to do these safety procedures, especially busy college students,” Meyers said. “Anything on social media is good because it makes them seem like they are doing something on the same level as the people.”
Lomax mentioned that social media has the additional benefit of allowing citizens to assist the police in the long run.
“You see more people are on social media, sharing it, commenting on it and so forth like that,” Lomax said. “If we can communicate with the community and issues that we are seeing, that also gives them things to be looking for and things that they could assist in preventing.”
