Logan Circle: There were 21 violent crimes in PSA 307 in August 2011, up from 16 in August 2010. The number of violent crimes committed with guns, however, declined. (MPD Crime Database)

From Matty Rhoades

Property crime in the Logan Circle area in August continued a downward trend that began last year. The August crime statistics for Police Service Area (PSA) 307 show a year-over-year (YOY) 33% decrease in property crime.

Violent crime in the Logan Circle PSA was up slightly — there were 21 violent crimes last month compared to 16 in August 2010. When both categories are combined — property and violent — crime was down 22% on a YOY basis in August 2011. All numbers are from the MPD Crime Database. Full numbers are in the chart below.

Logan Circle: Thefts from autos are one of the most common city crimes. There were 12 in August 2011, down from 17 the previous August. (MPD Crime Database)

• Violent Crime. There were 13 robberies last month (two with a gun) compared to 13 the previous August (six with guns). The number of assaults rose from two in July 2010 to seven last month.
• Gun Crimes. The good news is that gun crimes decreased; there were three last month compared to seven in August 2010.
• Property Crime. There were declines in burglaries, thefts and thefts from autos on a YOY basis in August 2011.

3-Year Trend: 2008 to 2011

What does the three-year trend, 2008-1011, for the month of August show for PSA 307?

• Violent crime is up 62% — but the relatively low number of such crimes can make the percentage increase misleading. There were 13 violent crimes in August 2008, 8 in August 2009, 16 in August 2010 and 21 in August 2011.
• Property crime is down 32%. There were 76 property crimes in August 2008 compared to 52 in August 2011.

There were five robberies last month in PSA 307, none of them with a gun. In July 2010 there were 16 robberies, eight of them with a gun. (MPD Crime Database)

From Matty Rhoades

Both violent and property crime were down last month in the Logan Circle area when compared to July 2010. The July MPD crime statistics for Police Service Area (PSA) 307 show a year-over-year (YOY) 65% decrease in violent crime and a 16% decrease for property crime. Total crime — both categories combined — is down 28% on a YOY basis for July.

There were only seven violent crimes in July in PSA 307 compared to 20 in July 2010. On the property crime side, there were 52 property crimes last month compared to 62 in July 2010. All numbers are from the MPD Crime Database. Full numbers are in the chart below.

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Thefts from autos are the most common type of crime. There were 159 in the Logan Circle area in the first six months of 2011. (MPD Crime Database)

From Matty Rhoades

For the first six months of 2011, the number of crimes in the Logan Circle area was steady in most categories compared to the same period of 2010 — with the exception of thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”).

The huge rise in this single category drove up the crime rate in the Logan Circle area. Smash and grabs are the most common type of crime in the Borderstan area, so a large rise in this category can easily drive up the overall rate.

Police Service Area (PSA) 307 covers the Logan Circle neighborhood. All numbers are from the MPD Crime Database.

Detailed crime numbers for Logan Circle are below the fold. The Dupont Circle numbers were reported last week and the citywide numbers were detailed earlier this month.

Six-Month Numbers for Logan Circle

For the January through June period, there were 62 violent crimes in PSA 307, the same as in the first six months of 2010. Robberies decreased from 45 to 40 for the comparable six-month period. However, the number of assaults rose from 11 to 18. Gun crimes rose slightly from 10 in the January to June period of 2010 to 12 this year. Gun crimes are all crimes (usually robberies and assaults) committed with guns.

There were 308 property crimes in the first six months of 2011 in PSA 307, up from 222 in the same period of 2010. This was due to the huge rise in the number of smash and grabs. There were declines in the number of burglaries and stolen autos while thefts were up slightly.

Three-Year Trend: 2008 to 2011

What does the three-year trend for the January through June period in PSA 307 show?

• 2008 versus 2011: Violent crime down 14%.
• Property crime down 21% from 2008 to 2011 for first six months of the year.
• Total crime — property and violent crime combined — down 20%.
• The number of robberies (with and without a gun) are down 16% since 2008. 
• Assault with a Dangerous Weapon has is down 18% since 2008.
• Gun crime — robberies and assaults involving guns — have increased 71% from seven to 12 gun crimes.

PSA 307: There were 22 thefts from autos in May, up from four in May of last year. Year to date, thefts from autos are up 121% in PSA 307 compared to 2010. (MPD Crime Database)

From Matty Rhoades

Due to a 97% rise in property crime, total crime in the Logan Circle area was up substantially in May from the previous year. On a year-over-year (YOY) basis, there were 74 crimes reported in Police Service Area (PSA) 307 last month, compared to 42 in April 2010.

The biggest increase was in thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”) or “TFAs,” but there were also more thefts, burglaries and stolen autos in the Logan Circle-area PSA. YOY the number of property crimes almost doubled, from 32 in May 2010 to 63.

There was a similar increases in TFAs and thefts in the Logan Circle in April and March as well. Year to date (January 1-June 26), property crime in PSA 307 is up 42% compared to last year. There were 212 property crimes from January 1 to June 26, 2010 — but 300 for the same period this year. The biggest increase is in TFAs, which are up 121% on a YOY basis; there have been 154 such crimes so far this year compared to 71 for the same period of last year.

Violent crime rose slightly last month YOY. There were 11 reported violent crimes in 307 last month compared to nine to previous May. There were a combined nine robberies and assaults last month — the same as the previous May. Last month there were two reported sex abuse crimes in 307. However, year to date, violent crime is down slightly in 307: There have been 57 violent crimes so far this year compared to 61 in the same period of 2010.

How do May numbers for 307 compare to April and March? Find out: Logan Circle Smash and Grabs on the Rise and Logan Circle: Property Crime Up in March.

PSA 307 covers an area from L Street NW on the south to S Street NW on the north and from 9th Street NW on the east to 15th Street NW on the west. All numbers are from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Crime Database.

The Trendline

What does the May trendline show for PSA 307?

• May 2011: 74 crimes (11 of them violent crimes)
• May 2010: 42 crimes (9 of them violent crimes)
• May 2009: 126 crimes (31 of them violent crimes)
• May 2008: 79 crimes (10 of them violent crimes)

Specific crimes for May are listed below.

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There were four armed robberies in Northwest DC over the weekend, with one occurring in Logan Circle. The one close to home happened at 5:58 am on the 1200 block of 13th Street NW (between M and N Streets).

The DC Police Alert for the 13th Street robbery: “ROBBERY GUN_0558 HRS_1200 B/O 13TH ST NW _LOF B/M 6′, LSW RED T-SHIRT, BLACK HAT, MED CPLX, ARMED W/A LARGE GUN L/S RUNNING UP 13TH ST NW  DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVENT #I20110322576″

Further west, there was a robbery involving a gun at 23rd and M Streets NW. From the DC Police Alert: “ROBBERY FORCE & VIOLENCE_0606 HRS_23RD & M ST NW_LOF A DARK GREEN VEH W/ DC TAGS DS7217 – 2 B/M’S WEARING MASKS ARMED W/ GUNS ON WAS WEARING A RED SHIRT DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVENT #I20110322581″

To the north in Columbia Heights at 14th and Oak Streets NW (four blocks north of Park Road) was another early Saturday robbery involving a gun. From the DC Police Alert: “TYPE_ROBBERY HOLD UP GUN_TIME_0627 HOURS_LOCATION_14TH ST & OAK ST NW_DESCRIPTION_LOF_GOLD SUBURBAN SUV_ DC TAG_DR5418_SUSPECTS_2B/M_WEARING RED BASEBALL CAP,WHITE SHIRT,BROWN COMPLEXION DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVENT #I20110322597″

The June meeting of Police Service Area (PSA) 307 is Wednesday night at 7 pm. Location is Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle NW. For more information, contact Lt. Vanessa Moore (who heads up PSA 307) at vanessa.moore@dc.gov. PSA 307 covers the Logan Circle area.

Click to enlarge: There were 10 violent crimes reported in PSA 307 in April 2011. (Source: MPD Crime Database)

From Matty Rhoades

Total crime in the Logan Circle area was up slightly in April from the previous year. On a year-over-year (YOY) basis, there were 58 crimes reported in Police Service Area (PSA) 307 last month, compared to 52 in April 2010.

PSA 307 covers an area from L Street NW on the south to S Street NW on the north and from 9th Street NW on the east to 15th Street NW on the west. All numbers are from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Crime Database.

Most of the increase can be attributed to thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”) or “TFAs,” but there were also slightly more robberies and assaults last month than in April 2010. At the same time, burglaries declined and the number of thefts held steady on a YOY basis.

Click to enlarge: There were 21 thefts from autos in the Logan Circle area last month, up from 13 in April 2010. TFAs are usually the most common type of crime. (Source: MPD Crime Database)

The Trendline

What does the April trendline show for PSA 307?

• April 2011: 58 crimes (10 of them violent crimes)
• April 2010: 52 crimes (10 of them violent crimes)
• April 2009: 80 crimes* (9 of them violent crimes)
• April 2008: 52 crimes (9 of them violent crimes)

*The spike in property crimes in April 2009 was due to a huge rise in TFAs. In April 2008 there were 13 TFAs, which jumped to 41 in April 2009 but then declined to 13 in April 2010 before rising again last month to 21.

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Click to enlarge: There were 27 thefts from autos last month. (MPD Crime Database)

Year-over-year property crime as up in March in the Logan Circle area. There were 63 reported crimes in the Logan Circle’s Police Service Area (PSA) 307 last month compared to 48 in March of 2010.

The increase was due to more property crime, specifically thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”) and thefts. Last month there were 52 property crimes in PSA 307 compared to 35 in March 2010.

The number of violent crimes last month decreased to 11 from 13 in March 2010. Of the 11 violent crimes last month in PSA 307, one was a homicide (on 11th Street NW) while seven were robberies (two with guns) and three were assaults (none with guns). All numbers are from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Crime Database and details are below the fold.

How do the numbers for March 2011 and March 2010 compare to 2009 and 2008? In March 2008, there were 52 crimes in PSA 307 (seven violent, 45 property), and in January 2009 there were 87 crimes (12 of them violent, 75 property). See the chart below the fold for more details.

The boundaries of PSA 307 are 9th to 15th Streets NW and from L to S Streets NW.

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Major crimes in D.C.’s Dupont-Logan-U Street area.

The following is a list of robberies, assaults, sex crimes, drug crimes, stolen autos and burglaries in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area over the past week.

Crimes are from police reports for Police Service Areas (PSA) 208 (Dupont-Kalorama), 305 (includes U Street area) and 307 (Logan Circle).

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PSA 208 covers the Dupont-Kalorama area. (DC Citizen Atlas)

The monthly public meeting of Police Service Area (PSA) 208 is tonight, Tuesday night, March 15, at 7 pm. Location is the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Third District Headquarters at 1620 V Street NW. These monthly meetings (third Tuesday of the month) are roundtables and residents are encouraged to raise any issues for discussion related to crime and public safety in the Dupont Circle area.

PSA 208 covers the Dupont-Kalorama area and it is led by Lt. Scott Dignan. The PSA is part of MPD’s Second District. MPD posts crime reports and news on the Second District Yahoo! listserv.

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