All at once, the County has (finally) released three quarters worth of crime statistics. Note that the first quarter stats are in Excel Spreadsheet form, while the second and third quarter stats are Acrobat PDF files.
1/7/2008
MCP Crime Statistics Show Decrease For First Nine Months of 2007
Crime Statistics for the first nine months, January through September, of 2007 show a 0.2% slight decrease in reported crime within Montgomery County. Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics for the first nine months of 2007 as compared to the same period of 2006 show:
- Part I Crime decreased 0.04% (from 18,757 to 18,750)
- Part II Crime decreased 0.2% (from 35,082 to 34,997)
- Overall, Total Crime (Part I and Part II totals) decreased 0.2% (from 53,839 to 53,747)
Part I Crimes Decreased 0.04%:
Murder: decreased 25.0% (from 12 to 9)
Rape: decreased 7.7% (from 104 to 96)
Robbery: decreased 12.7% (from 909 to 794)
Aggravated Assault: decreased 6.9% (from 637 to 593)
Burglary: decreased 3.9% (from 2,725 to 2,618)
Larceny: increased 2.2% (from 12,483 to 12,753)
Auto Theft: no change 0.0% (from 1,887 to 1,887)
Part II Crimes Decreased by 0.2%:
Part II crimes are defined as minor assaults, arson, forgery-counterfeiting, bad checks, embezzlement, stolen property, vandalism, weapons offenses, prostitution, sex offenses, controlled dangerous substance (CDS) violations, gambling, family offenses, juvenile offenses, liquor law violations, disorderly conduct, suicide, and non-traffic offenses.
An analysis of the crimes statistics for the first nine months includes the following:
Homicide down 25%, 9 vs. 12 for 2006
For the first nine months of 2007, Montgomery County recorded 7 incidents with 9 victims. Five of the incidents were domestic in nature and two were the result of fathers each killing two of their children. The closure rate for homicides over the 9-month period was 77.8%. Two cases remain open.
Rape down 7.7%, 96 vs. 104 for 2006
During the first 9 months of 2007, 120 incidents were reported in this crime classification. Of the 120 incidents, however, 24 were deemed to be ‘unfounded’; thus, the actual number of cases counted was 96. Seventy-two percent of victims were previously acquainted with or related to their attackers.
Robbery down 12.7%, 794 vs. 909 for 2006
From January 1 through September 30, 2007, there were 115 fewer robberies documented than in the same period for 2006. Approximately 85% of the 2007 robberies were classified as non-commercial, with a large percentage of those being street robberies. Non-commercial robberies during the same period in 2006 represented approximately 82% of all documented incidents.
Firearms were used in 36.4% (289) of all robberies during the first 9 months of 2007, while 44.6% (354) were documented as strong arm.
Aggravated Assault down 6.9%, 593 vs. 637 for 2006
Aggravated assaults showed a 6.9% decline over the first 9 months of 2007, when compared against the same period in calendar year 2006.
In 41% of the incidents a knife was the documented weapon used. Firearms were found to be used in nearly 21% of all incidents, use of hands/feet represented almost 12% of all incidents and other weapon was documented in approximately 26% of the incidents.
Of the total incidents recorded, 26.6% had some type of domestic involvement. Domestic/spousal contributed to 16.5% of the incidents and domestic/other contributed to an additional 10.1%.
Burglary down 3.9%, 2,618 vs. 2,725 from 2006
Residential burglaries represented approximately 72% of all burglaries throughout the first 9 months of 2007. Commercial burglaries represented nearly 25%, with school burglaries accounting for the remainder. Compared to the figures for the same period of 2006, documented incidents declined in each of the three categories.
Larceny up 2.2%, 12,753 vs. 12,483 from 2006
Of all Part I crimes, Larceny is the only classification to show an increase through the first three quarters of 2007, when compared to the first three quarters of 2006. Larceny from automobiles was the top incident, representing just fewer than 35% of all reported larcenies. In a significant number of the larceny from automobiles, it should be noted, that vehicles were either left unsecured and/or left with property in plain view. Larceny of automobile parts represented 16% of the calls, while shoplifting also totaled approximately 16% of all larceny calls.
Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said, “It is very encouraging that six of the seven categories of Part l crimes have decreased during this nine month period. The only category of increase was larcenies and our department has employed several strategies to get the message out to drivers about the importance of locking vehicles and not leaving possessions and money in full view. We are hopeful that the public outreach combined with arrests for these crimes that were made in November and December will have an impact on a decrease in these crimes in the final quarter of 2007. We are expecting the overall decrease in reported crime to carry through our 2007 year-end statistics.”
Note: A copy of the first three quarters of crime statistics, as well as, those from previous years are available at the Montgomery County Police website under the Crime Stats link on the Media Services/Press Release page at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/police. The 9-month analysis is available under “Crime Statistics” on each Police District’s webpage. Or a copy can be picked up at the Montgomery County Police Headquarters, 2350 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD.
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Contact: Media Services Division Phone: 240.773.5030
