Felony arrests in Starkville saw a substantial increase in 2016, according to the most recent data from the Starkville Municipal Court.
Court officials reported 242 felonies in 2016, which is the highest total in the last five years and a sizable jump from the 190 felony arrests reported in 2015.
The data was presented to the public by court officials at the last Starkville Board of Aldermen meeting.
The brunt of felony arrests were classified as theft/burglary/robbery, with 97 cases documented in 2016. This made up 40 percent of felony arrests for the year.
Additionally, 29 drug-related felony arrests were reported, along with 23 cases of felony aggravated assault.
Misdemeanor arrests saw a slight year-over-year decline, from 1219 in 2015 to 1124 in 2016. This number is down substantially from 2012 arrest totals, when 1836 misdemeanors were reported.
The most prevalent traffic citation in 2016 was documented as “lack of insurance,” which saw 1821 citations written. Also reported were 1,755 seatbelt citations and 1,434 speeding violations.
The total number of new cases saw a slight decline over the last five years, but 2016 topped the previous year with 9,370 cases total for the municipal court.