Crime Snapshot: 18th and Florida NW; Thefts, Burglaries Drive Rate Up

• View map of Florida Ave NW & 18th St NW area in Google Maps.

We’re doing something new here with crime statistics at Borderstan. We normally report crime stats for the defined Borderstan crime reporting area.¹ In addition, we sometimes provide stats from Police Service Area (PSA) 208/Dupont and PSA 307/Logan-Shaw.

However, we are going to occasionally pick a different location in the area and show a snapshot of crime trends, using information from the MPD crime database. The first guest-crime-location is 18th Street and Florida Avenue NW, right on the cusp of the Adams Morgan, U Street and Dupont Circle neighborhoods/areas.

Roughly, this circular area runs from 16th Street west to Connecticut Avenue and from R Street north up to Belmont Road.  The stats from the crime database encompass a circular area radiating 1,500 feet (0.28 mile) in all directions from 18th and Florida. The area is in PSA 208 and PSA 303.

Guest blogger Back from Boulder prepared the stats and analysis for Borderstan. Here’s what he found.

Crime Snapshot of 18th and Florida NW: Jan. 1-Dec. 8, 2009

• Total Crime: For 2009, total crime in this reporting area is lower than 2007, but higher than 2008. In other words, crime is worse than last year, but not as bad as 2007. All numbers are for Jan. 1 through Dec. 8 of each year. The increase in 2009 is due to large increases in thefts (up 56%) and burglaries (up 44%) from last year.
  • There were 549 total crimes in this area in 2007, 473 in 2008 and 512 in 2009.
  • There were 103 violent crimes in 2007, which dropped to 99 in 2008 and declined further to 86 so far in 2009.
  • As for property crimes, there have been 426 this year compared to 374 for the same period of 2008 and 446 in 2007.
  • For 2009, violent crime is down 13% from 2008, and property crime is up 14% from last year. A rise in thefts and burglaries is driving the overall increase.

• Two-year Comparisons: Compared to the same period of 2007 (Jan. 1 through Dec. 8), violent crime is down 16% in 2009 and property crime is down 4% from two years ago. Overall, total crime in this area is 7% lower in 2009 than it was in 2007.

• Property Crimes:
  • Stolen Autos: The number of stolen autos is down 35% from last year. There have been 37 stolen autos this year compared to 58 in 2007 and 57 in 2008.
  • Thefts from Autos: Often called “smash and grabs,” this is a huge problem in the area, but there has been a decline in the past two years: 144 this year-to-date compared to 154 in 2008 and 189 in 2007. This is a 24% decline in two years.
  • Thefts: The huge rise in thefts year-to-date in 2009 is driving the crime rate up in this area. It is noticeable that thefts actually plummeted from 2007 to 2008. There were 149 thefts in 2007, 107 in 2008 and 164 in 2009–a 53% increase over last year and 10% higher than two years ago.
  • Burglaries: There were 50 burglaries for this period of 2007, which rose to 54 in 2008 and 78 in 2009. This is a 44% jump from last year, and a 56% increase in two years.

• Violent Crimes:
  • Homicides: There were 2 homicides in this area in 2007 for the reporting period, but 0 in 2008 and 2009.
  • Robberies: Robberies (with and without a gun) are down. There have been 68 robberies so far in 2009; this compares to 75 in 2008 and 76 in 2007. This is a 9% drop from last year.
  • Gun Crimes: Gun crimes are up this year from last year. (These are robberies and assaults committed with a gun.) They declined in 2008 but have gone back up slightly this year: 26 gun crimes for the Jan. 1-Dec. 8 period of 2007, compared to 18 in 2008 and 20 in 2009.

• Some Monthly Stats:
  • October 2009 had the highest percentage increase in burglaries over the last two years: 1 burglary in 2007, 4 in 2008 (up 300%), and 12 in 2009 (up 200%), for a 1,100% increase in burglaries for the month of October from 2007.
  • October 2009 saw a precipitous drop in thefts. Thefts were down 68% from the previous year, and 69% over two years. There were 13 in 2007, 13 in 2008, and 4 in 2009.
  • August was the most violent month in 2009. Violent crime doubled in August 2009 over August 2008, after falling 33% in 2008 from 2007. There were 12 violent crimes in 2009, 6 in 2008, and 9 in 2007–a 33% increase in violent crime over 2007 levels.
  • August also saw a huge swing in property crimes. After falling 44% in 2008 from 2007 levels, property crime shot up 43% in 2009. Burglaries fell 63% in 2008 from 2007, but shot up 67% in 2009. There were 8 burglaries in 2007, 3 in 2008 and 5 in 2009.
  • June 2009 showed a bit of a reprieve in violent crimes. After spiking 78% in 2008, the numbers were down 69% this year from 2008 and down 44% from 2007: 9 violent crimes in 2007, 16 in 2008 and 5 in 2009.

¹ The Borderstan crime reporting area 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 includes parts of Police Service Area (PSA) 208 (west of 15th) and PSA 307 (east of 15th), with a sliver of PSA 305 in the northeast.