The number of homicides and other violent crimes investigated by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office increased in 2023.

New statistics released by the sheriff’s office showed detectives there worked 28 homicides last year, compared to 21 the previous year. That is a 33 percent increase.

Those numbers include not only killings in unincorporated Jefferson County, but also slayings they investigated for municipalities such as Fairfield and Midfield.

In all of Jefferson County in 2023, there were 195 homicides, including 135 in the City of Birmingham. Homicides in Birmingham last year dropped 6.25 percent.

Aggravated assaults investigated by the sheriff’s office rose from 95 in 2022 to 101 in 2023.

The other increases included: robbery, from 90 to 93; burglary from 608 to 666; vehicle thefts from 380 to 455; and unlawful breaking and entering of a vehicle from 626 to 628.

The number of rapes worked by sheriff’s detectives decreased from 43 in 2022 to 37 in 2023.

Thefts saw the most dramatic drop from 1,669 to 1,526.