Austin — AUSTIN -- Robberies and aggravated assaults are up in South Austin, according to Austin Police Department numbers.
For robberies, there were 131 in 2013; 148 in 2014; 166 in 2015; 172 in 2016; and 182 in 2017.
For aggravated assaults (non family violence), there were 177 in 2013; 180 in 2014; 193 in 2015; 238 in 2016; and 239 in 2017.
Police said these crimes can oftentimes be tied back to drugs.
KVUE'S Jenni Lee followed a specialized unit, Region Four's Metro Tactical Unit, to see how they tackled narcotics in South Austin.
An unmarked police unit pulling into a Valero gas station off William Cannon Drive is one of the first stops of this spotter operation.
Officers pulled over a white, four-door sedan for a defective brake light. But it's not the driver they want. It's the passenger. They said they saw him hide something underneath the dashboard console.
"I retrieved the item that was being stuffed underneath the console and it was a bag of cocaine. How much cocaine is that? In between 5 to 10 grams," said Senior Patrol Officer Clinton Halbardier.
We asked the suspect a few questions.
Lee: Are the drugs yours?
Suspect: No, they are not.
Lee: So whose are they?
Suspect: Probably they were just in the car. Somebody just left it in the car. I don't know.
What officers do know is that the drugs they found on the suspect is cocaine, thanks to a field test kit that positively identified the narcotic.
And they don't mind telling him.
"You see the tint? The blue tint," the officer asked.
"Each substance that we come across, heroin, meth, you're going to have a different test kit," Officer Pardinek said.
Off East Elmo Street in southeast Austin, officers pulled over a gray Infiniti for expired registration.
What they found was a lot of suspected stolen items inside the car.
"If someone is addicted to narcotics, they're probably going to commit burglaries, thefts to help get their habits, to help get their fixes," Officer Harbardier said.
Something the driver denied when Lee asked her.
Last month, we also followed this same Metro Tactical team out.
Officers searched a car that was illegally parked in a handicapped parking spot at the Red Roof Inn that also smelled of pot.
"The subjects that usually come over to the hotels that we have noticed have local addresses, especially within the same area, such as this address right here. He's from this area," said Senior Patrol Officer Chris Anderson.
According the Austin police numbers, the total number of narcotic-related offenses have slightly increased the past five years -- from 1,558 narcotic offenses in 2013 to 1,802 in 2017. Police will tell you themselves that they don't know if that's from increased enforcement or increased criminal activity.
Either way, they will continue doing what they do in order to keep true to the department's motto of "keeping you, your family and our community safe."