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By James W. Robinson

Contributing Writer

Assault, vandalism and weapon law violations accounted for the majority of criminal offenses in the City of Franklin city during 2021, while in both Southampton and Isle of Wight counties assault, vandalism and drug violations were the top offenses reported last year.

According to the Crime in Virginia report from the Virginia State Police, there were two counts of murder both last year and in 2020 in Franklin, while there was one in Isle of Wight and none reported in Southampton. The report, on the website on the VSP CJIS Data Analysis and Reporting Team page, provides the rates and occurrences of crimes committed in cities and counties across the commonwealth.

The data shows that Franklin, Southampton and Isle of Wight saw both increases and decreases in crime with some reappearances in other areas. The Crime in Virginia report at va.beyond2020.com breaks down the local offenses into four sections — crimes against person, crimes against property, crimes against society, and violent crimes.

City of Franklin

Crimes against persons in the city of Franklin were up from 233 in 2020 to 316 in 2021. Simple assaults rose from 197 to 211, while both kidnapping and intimidation increased from four and nine, to seven and 39 in 2021, respectively.

Crimes against property in the city dropped from 554 to 496 in 2021. Burglary was down to 35 from 50, while vandalism dropped to 156 from 190. Shoplifting was down at 23 last year, compared to 50 in 2020. Areas such as embezzlement and false pretenses rose from nine and 22, respectively, to 15 and 36 last year. 

Crimes against society saw an increase with the count rising from 151 to 178 last year. Areas such as weapon law violations nearly doubled from 55 to 93 last year, while animal cruelty increased cases rose from two to three. Drug violations and drug equipment violations were down from 80 and seven last year to 70 to six in 2021, respectively. 

Violent crimes Franklin more than doubled from 24 in 2020 to 51 last year. Aggravated assault and rape both rose from 12 and three, to 33 and 12 last year, respectively. However, robbery fell from seven to four, while the number of murders remained at two both years.

Southampton County

Crimes against persons in the county were up from 153 in 2020 to 180 last year. Forceable rape rose from one to seven cases last year, while kidnapping increased from two in 2020 to three last year.

Crimes against property decreased in Southampton from 364 to 283 in 2021. Vandalism was up from 107 to 117 last year. Burglary dropped from 29 in 2020 to 17 last year, while credit card fraud and identity theft each decreased, respectively, going from 11 and 17, to 18 and 13 last year.

Crimes against society declined from 78 to 59 last year. Drug violations fell from 54 to 31 last year, while animal cruelty was down from two 2020 to one. Obscene material crimes doubled going from five to 10 in 2020. 

Southampton saw violent crimes decrease from 19 to 10 in 2021. Aggravated assault numbers dropped from 14 to one. No robberies were reported last year, down from two in 2020, while rapes increased from three to nine in 2021.

Isle of Wight County

Crimes against persons in the county saw a slight increase from 338 to 340 last year. Kidnapping, simple assault and intimidation each increased. Simple assault rose from 237in 2020 to 251 last year, while kidnapping was up from four to five, while s from four, 237, and 23 to five, 251, and 33 respectively. Forcible rape and fondling both saw a decrease from six and 15 to three and seven.  

Crimes against property in Isle of Wight from 669 to 785. Areas such as vandalism, false pretenses and credit card fraud increased, with vandalism up from 140 to 189. False pretense crimes increased from 70 to 82, while credit card fraud was up from 21 to 27 in 2021. Offenses declining included larceny and stolen property down from 102 and six, respectively, to 97 and three in 2021. 

Crimes against society fell from 252 to 162. Isle of Wight saw drug violations and drug equipment violations decrease from 160 and 19, respectively, to 100 and eight last year. Likewise, obscene material also declined from 21 in 2020 to six. 

Violent crimes were down from 67 to 48. Aggravated assault dropped from 51 to 39 last year, while robbery from eight to five.

Here are the detailed numbers for the city and the counties in all four categories, by year.

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS

City of Franklin

2021: Total of 316 — Simple assault, 211; intimidation, 39; aggravated assault, 33; forcible fondling, 12; forcible sodomy, nine; kidnapping/abduction, seven; forcible rape and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, each at two; and sexual assault with an object, one.

Southampton County

2021: Total of 180 — Simple assault, 151; forcible fondling, eight; forcible rape and intimidation, each at seven; kidnapping/abduction, three; and forcible sodomy, sexual assault with object, statutory rape and aggravated assault, each at one.

Isle of Wight County

2021: Total of 340 — Simple assault, 251; aggravated assault, 39; intimidation, 33; forcible fondling, seven; kidnapping/abduction, five; forcible rape, three; and murder/manslaugther and negligent manslaughter, each at one.

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

City of Franklin

2021: Total of 496 — Vandalism of property, 156; larceny (all other), 95; shoplifting, 50; false pretenses, 36; theft from motor vehicle, 32; theft of motor vehicle parts, 28; burglary, 23; motor vehicle theft, 21; embezzlement, 15; credit card fraud and counterfeiting, nine; identity theft, six; stolen property offenses and theft from building , each at five; robbery, four; arson and impersonation, each at one.

Southampton County

2021: Total of 283 — Vandalism of property, 107; larceny (all other), 59; theft from motor vehicle, 20; burglary and motor vehicle theft, each at 18; identity theft, 13; false pretenses, theft of motor vehicle parts and shoplifting, each at eight; forgery, seven; theft from building, six; credit card fraud and impersonation, each at four; stolen property offenses, two; and arson, one.

Isle of Wight County

2021: Total of 785 — Vandalism, 189; theft from motor vehicle, 120; larceny (all other), 97; false pretenses, 82; theft from building, 45; theft of motor vehicle parts, 41; shoplifting and identity theft, each at 34; motor vehicle theft, 32; credit card fraud, 27; burglary, 25; wire fraud, 18; embezzlement, 11; forgery, nine; arson and robbery, each at five; stolen property offenses, three; impersonation, welfare fraud and hacking/computer invasion, each at two; and pocket-picking and bribery, each at one.

CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY

City of Franklin

2021: Total of 178 — Weapon law violations, 93; drug violations, 70; drug equipment violations, six; and drug equipment violations, obscene material and animal cruelty, each at three.

Southampton County

2021: Total of 59 — Drug violations – 31; weapon law violations, 16; obscene material, 10; drug equipment violation and obscene animal cruelty, each at one.

Isle of Wight County

2021: Total of 162 — Drug violations, 100; weapon law violations, 46; drug equipment violations, eight; obscene material, six; and animal cruelty, two.

VIOLENT CRIMES

City of Franklin

2021: Total of 51 — Aggravated assault, 33; rape, 12; robbery, four; and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, two.

2020: Total of 24 — Aggravated assault, 12; robbery, seven; rape, three; and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, two.

Southampton County

2021: Total of 10 — Rape, nine; and aggravated assault, one;

2020: Total of 19 — Aggravated assault, 14; counts of rape, three; and robbery, two.

Isle of Wight County

2021: Total of 48 — Aggravated assault, 39; rape, three; robbery, five; and murder/nonnegligent manslaugther, one. 

2020: Total of 67 — Aggravated assault, 51; robbery, eight; rape, seven; and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter, one.