Crime in Northampton to fall by 11% in 2023

By Linda Cicoira

The total number of crimes reported in Northampton County in 2023 was 316, compared to 356 in 2022 and 341 in 2019, according to recently released state police annual reports. Those numbers represent a decrease of more than 11 percent in one year and more than seven percent since before the pandemic.

The Northampton County Sheriff's Office handled the majority of reports, 199 crimes compared to 228 reports in 2022, a decrease of nearly 13 percent. The number was the same as in 2019.

A sheriff's department breakdown for 2023 shows 103 crimes against property, 82 crimes against the person and 14 crimes against society, which typically refer to gambling, prostitution and drug offenses.

In 2023, State Police investigated 23 crimes in Northampton County, up from 15 in 2022 and 45 in 2019.

Crime increased in the Cape Charles division, where 19 complaints were received in 2023, including 12 crimes against property, six against persons and one against society, compared to 14 in 2022 and 12 in 2019.

Exmore Police had 75 complaints in 2023, including 52 against property, 19 against persons and four against the community. This is a significant decrease from 2022, when 99 complaints were received by the city police, and 2019, when 85 complaints were reported.

The report showed a police station in Cheriton, a police station for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnels and a police station in Eastville, but did not include current crime figures.

A further breakdown of the crimes reported to the Sheriff's Office in 2023 shows 30 cases of destruction, damage or vandalism of property; 24 cases of other thefts; 12 burglaries; nine auto thefts; five cases of obtaining money by false pretenses or fraud; four cases of forgery/forgery; four cases of credit card or ATM fraud; two cases of embezzlement; two cases of identity theft; two cases of robbery; two cases of thefts from a vehicle; two cases of thefts of vehicle parts or accessories; two cases of receiving stolen goods; one arson; one case of wire fraud and one case of pickpocketing.

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