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Take a Look at 2013 Statistics Compiled by the Avery, Watauga County Sheriff’s Offices

Jan. 15, 2014. The offices of the Avery and Watauga County Sheriff’s released drug and/or crime and response statistics for 2013 and compared those to the previous year. While the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office report only details narcotics-related charges, the Avery County Sheriff’s Office report details much more information. 

WCSO: Narcotics Statistics

Watauga County Sheriff’s Office’s statistics, as in previous years, reflect both the formal charges on individuals and those charges of individuals that could have been charged but have instead provided “substantial assistance” and cooperated with the local District Attorney’s Office. 

2013, 2012                                                                                                   

Total Defendants:
2013: 161
2012: 77

Total Charges (Active and pending charges):
2013: 524
2012: 380

Total Methamphetamine Labs:
2013: 31*
2012: 14

Marijuana/Mushroom Grow Operations:
2013: 19
2012: 5

Search Warrants:
2013: 40**
2012: 32

*17 lab responses with 31 actual meth labs. Lab responses included dump sites and precursors that had to be disposed by N.C. State Bureau of Investigation count in the SBI numbers as a meth lab

**This number only reflects search warrants on residences and does not include cell phone search warrants or consent searches. Consent searches are the majority of searches conducted. 

 ACSO: Yearly Statistics 

The Avery County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to 7,193 calls during 2013, which represents a 5 percent increase over the previous year. 

Deputies also responded to and answered 25,403 “events,” which could be a dispatched call or self-initiated calls such as churches, businesses, schools, tree lots patrols and calls to assist motorists. This is a 39 percent increase from 2012, the largest increase being school checks that were given higher priority after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. It is also an average of 69.6 events per day or 3 events per hour, 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

  • Residential Alarms:  237, a 35 percent increase over 2012
  • Business Alarms: 140, a 49 increase over 2012
  • 911 Hang Up: 96, a 43 percent increase over 2012
  • Animal Complaints: 159, a 70 percent increase over 2012
  • Assist Fire Department: 175, a 75 percent increase over 2012
  • Assist EMS/Rescue: 251, a 39 percent increase over 2012
  • Domestics: 261, a 66 percent increase over 2012
  • Traffic Direction/Accident: 209, a 97 percent increase over 2012
  • Felony Arrests: 218, a 32 percent increase over 2012
  • Misdemeanor Arrests: 493, a 4 percent decrease over  2012
  • Civil Processes Issued: 2193, an 18 percent increase over 2012
  • Civil Processes Served: 1772, a 24 percent increase over 2012
  • 2013 Service Rate on civil papers was 81 percent

Income brought in by the Sheriff’s Office for civil processes, fingerprints, pistol purchase permits and concealed carry permits was $49,989.38

  • Inmates processed through the jail: 907
  • 2013 average daily population: 40

Income brought in through the jail for housing inmates for other agencies, Statewide Misdemeanant  Confinement Program, Commissary, Phone Service and SCAAP =  $143,303.00. This is more than double the amount brought in last year. 

With the Civil Process Revenues and Jail Revenues the Avery County Sheriff’s Office returned to the county as revenue for 2013: $193,292.00.  

Investigations

There were 502 incident reports filed in 2013, an increase of 50 more reports than last year.  Investigators had a recovered property rate of 37 percent which is far above the 2012 state average of 16 percent. Investigators recovered $86,092.50 worth of property in 2013. 

Drug investigations continued to be significant concerning all areas of investigations. Seized by the Avery County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Municipal Drug Task were:

  • 539 grams of methamphetamine
  • 12 bindles of heroin
  • 2056 grams of marijuana
  • 546 dosage units of pills

Avery County also experienced double-digit meth labs discovered for the second straight year, finding 11 methamphetamine labs in 2013.