County crime rate drops, reversing upward trend

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007

County crime rate drops, reversing upward trend

— C. Benjamin Ford |

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Montgomery County saw a decline in the overall crime rate in the first quarter of this year after seeing a rise last year, according to the County Police.

In the first quarter, which ended March 31, the total crime rate dropped 3.4 percent compared to the same period last year. Major crimes — murders, rapes, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, larceny and auto theft — were down 5.7 percent while less serious offenses fell by 2.2 percent. Last year, the county saw the crime rate rise 6.4 percent compared to 2005.

Last year’s crime increase was pushed in part by a rise in robberies, which led the Montgomery County Police to add patrols in high crime areas and new robbery detectives.

While the first quarter’s decline in robberies was just 3.6 percent, it reversed an upward trend that resulted in a nearly 13 percent increase last year.

‘‘Our hope is that this downward trend will continue for the rest of the year,” Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a statement on Tuesday. ‘‘After seeing crime inch up over the last couple of years, we put a number of strategies in place that are, I believe, beginning to have an effect. The department will continue to focus on robbery cases in an effort to sustain this reduction.”

The county saw declines in six of the seven crimes listed as the most serious offenses in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2006. In the first quarter, there were two murders compared to four in the same period last year; 19 rapes — down from 33; 238 robberies — down from 247; 151 aggravated assaults — down from 235; 806 burglaries — up from 786; 3,585 larcenies — down from 3,790; and 554 auto thefts — down from 586.