Jefferson Parish crime is down dramatically in most categories. The sheriff says new crime-fighting technology has made catching criminal suspects much easier.
Homicide in Jefferson Parish is down significantly.
"Right now, we're at the end of June, and we're at four for the year," said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto.
Lopinto says that's just part of it. Robberies, burglaries, and assaults are all down. Lopinto says they're making arrests much faster, and that's thanks to embracing new technology.
"I certainly attribute a lot of our crime solving techniques, our drones have shown a huge success," the sheriff said.
The last UCR stats posted to JPSO.com show murder down 70%, robbery 20% lower than last year, assault down by 16%, burglary 37% lower, and auto theft falling more than 15%.
Lopinto says their eyes in the sky arrive at crime scenes much faster, helping them identify offenders, track them, and arrest them before they become repeat offenders.
""An armed robbery suspect that's going to go out there and commit armed robberies is going to commit several armed robberies over a period of time, until you catch them and put'em in jail," he said.
Their successs with drones, said Lopinto, has other agencies asking the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office for advice on setting up their own drone programs.
