Dupont-Kalorama: Violent Crime Up 25% in 2 Years

The violent crime rate for the first five months of the year in the Dupont-Kalorama area of DC is up 24.7% since 2007, according to statistics from the MPD’s crime database for Police Service Area (PSA) 208.

The most disturbing statistics relate to the rise in robberies and gun crimes. Robberies (with and without a gun) are up 42.8% in two years for the January-May period. Gun crimes (assaults and robberies with a gun) have increased 50% in two years–85% since last year alone.

Property crime is up 6.6% for the January-May reporting period since 2007. Overall, total crime is up 8.5% for the first five months of the year since 2007 in the Dupont-Kalorama neighborhood.

PSA 208 encompasses the Dupont Circle neighborhood and part of the Kalorama Circle area. West Borderstan (west of 15th Street) is in PSA 208.

A more detailed analysis and chart are below the fold.

Noticeable Trends in PSA 208, January through May

• Most disturbing is the rise in violent crime, which increased 12.1% for the January through May period of 2009 over the previous year. In the last two years, violent crime in the PSA has risen 24.7%.
  • The most disturbing statistic for this five-month period in PSA 208 is the increase in gun crimes (robberies and assaults with a gun). The number of gun crimes shot up from 13 in 2008 to 24 for the January through May period of this year; there were 16 gun crimes for the same period in 2007. As a result, gun crimes are up 50% in two years (84.6% from last year alone).
  • Robberies (with and without a gun) have increased dramatically over the past two years. There were 56 for the first five months of the year in 2007, 68 in 2008 and 80 this year. This is a 42.8% increase in two years in PSA 208 and the rise in robberies is responsible for the rise in violent crime in the Dupont area.
  • The number of assaults has been consistent over the past two years for the January-May period: 27 in 2007, 30 in 2008 and 30 in 2009.
• The number of total property crimes in PSA 208 rose 3% for the January-May period from last year. Since 2007, the property crime rate for the Dupont area has risen 6.6%.
  • The number of burglaries has remained almost exactly the same over the past two years for the January-May period: 64 in 2007, 63 in 2008 and 62 in 2009.
  • Thefts were also almost exactly the same for the first five months of this year (392) compared to 2008 (388). There were 367 thefts in 2007.
  • But, thefts from autos rose for the January-May period of 2009 (306) over 2008 (285), a 7.3% increase. There were 253 thefts from autos in the same period of 2007. This means that in the last two years that thefts from autos have increased 20.9%.
  • The number of stolen autos in PSA 208 for the first five months of the year remained exactly the same as in 2008: 43. This compares to 68 for the January-May period of 2007.

Chart with detailed crime stats for PSA 208 is below.

Crime Type	PSA 208 2007 YTD Jan.-May Crime Stats	PSA 208 2008 YTD Jan.-May Crime Stats	PSA 208 2009 YTD Jan.-May Crime Stats
Homicide	0	1	0
Sex Abuse	6	0	1
Robbery Excluding Gun	40	58	58
Robbery With Gun	16	10	22
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) Excluding Gun	27	27	28
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) With Gun	0	3	2
Total Violent Crime Year-to-Date	89	99	111
Burglary	64	63	62
Theft	367	388	392
Theft From Auto	253	285	306
Stolen Auto	68	43	43
Arson	1	0	0
Total Property Crime Year-to-Date	753	779	803
TOTAL CRIME FOR YEAR-TO-DATE	842	878	914

Related Links

• YTD Borderstan Crime Up 21%; May Numbers Better
• Dupont-Kalorama Sidebar: Violent Crime Up in May