Borderstan Crime Up 15% in August; 26% in 2 Months
Click for larger image: Location of the 11 violent crimes in the Borderstan crime reporting area in August 2009. (Source and image: MPD crime database.)
Click for larger image: Location of the 34 thefts-from-autos in August 2009 in the Borderstan crime reporting area. (Source and image: MPD crime database.)
For the month of August, total crime in the Borderstan crime area¹ was up for the second straight month. The number of total crimes—violent and property–was 78 in August, compared to 68 in July and 62 in June. Percentage-wise, the August total crime rate in Borderstan was 15% higher than July and 26% higher than June.
Violent crimes for the past three months in Borderstan: 4 in June, 8 in July and 11 in August. Property crimes for the past three months: 58 in June, 60 in July and 67 in August. Percentage-wise, the number of property crimes is up 16% in two months (from 58 to 67).
Also, May was a bad month in Borderstan for violent crime. There were 75 total crimes in May and 16 of them were violent crimes. For a year-over-year comparison for August, comparing August 2007, 2008 and 2009, read “Borderstan August Crime: Up 37% From Last Year.”
The table at bottom gives the crime numbers for the past three months: June, July and August. Following is a brief analysis of the data in the table. All data is from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) crime database.
- Violent Crime. Violent crime in Borderstan was up again in August, for the second straight month after a noticeable dip from a bad month of May. There were 4 violent crimes in June, 8 in July and 11 in August.
- Gun Crimes. Gun crimes are either robberies or assaults that are committed with gun: 1 in June, 1 in July and 4 in August.
- Robberies. Robberies with and without a gun: 4 in June, 5 in July and 11 in August.
- Assaults. Assaults can be with a gun or other type of deadly weapon: 0 in June, 3 in July and 0 in August.
- Property Crime. The number of property crimes rose in August after holding steady over the previous three months: 58 in June, 60 in July and 67 in August.
- Burglaries. After nasty spike in June, burglaries in the Borderstan crime area dropped dramatically for the second month in a row: 10 in June, 6 in July and 2 in August.
- Thefts. The number of thefts in Borderstan doubled from June to July and then held at exactly the same in number in August: 12 in June, 25 in July and 25 in August.
- Thefts from Autos. A huge problem in Borderstan, thefts from autos were down noticeably in July from May and June, but rose just as dramatically in August: 32 in June, 24 in July and 34 in August (a one-month increase of 42%).
- Stolen Autos. The number of stolen autos in the area rose in August: 4 in June, 4 in July and 6 in August.
Borderstan¹ Crime Stats for June, July and August 2009
| Crime Type | Borderstan June 2009 Crime Stats |
Borderstan July 2009 Crime Stats |
Borderstan August 2009 Crime Stats |
| Homicide |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Sex Abuse |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Robbery Excluding Gun |
3 |
5 |
7 |
| Robbery With Gun |
1 |
0 |
4 |
| Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) Excluding Gun |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) With Gun |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Total Violent Crime Month for Month |
4 |
8 |
11 |
| Burglary |
10 |
6 |
2 |
| Theft |
12 |
25 |
25 |
| Theft From Auto |
32 |
24 |
34 |
| Stolen Auto |
4 |
4 |
6 |
| Arson |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Total Property Crime for Month |
58 |
60 |
67 |
| TOTAL CRIME for Month |
62 |
68 |
78 |
¹ The Borderstan crime reporting area (see map at top) covers a circular area that radiates 1,500 feet from 15th and Corcoran Streets NW–an area that runs from 13th Street/Logan Circle west to New Hampshire Avenue/half way between 17th and 18th Streets… and from Rhode Island Avenue/O Street in the south to T/Caroline Streets in the north. The Borderstan crime reporting area is divided between Police Service Area (PSA) 208 (west of 15th) and PSA 307 (east of 15th), with a sliver of PSA 305.
One of the frightening aspects of the increased level of crime is the roving hoards of hoodlums. Some are groups of teens, some in the twenties–often in groups of a dozen or more. I have never seen one of these groups not actively involved in a crime, provoking people, or obviously exploring potential targets. From now on, I for one will call the police simply to report their presence, and see what the cops do. Please do the same.