Logan Circle: Gun Robberies Drove Violent Crime Up in 2009

The Logan Circle area served by Police Service Area (PSA) 307 had a 2% drop in total crimes in 2009 from the previous year. However, violent crime actually rose 9% last year, with total crime declining thanks to a 4% drop in property crimes. Property crimes accounted for 83% of the 974 total crimes in Logan in 2009.

The two major increases in 2009 were in robberies committed with a gun (up 126%) and thefts (up 18%). The major decreases were in burglaries (down 25%), stolen autos (down 23%) and thefts from autos (down 7%).

PSA 307 runs from 15th Street east to 9th Street NW and from L Street north to S Street NW. All numbers are from the MPD crime database.

Other Major Trends

Additional major crime trends in PSA 307/Logan:

• The 9% rise in violent crime in 2009 followed decreases of 16% in 2008 10% in 2007.
• The main factor in the rise in violent crime in the Logan Circle area was the huge increase in robberies committed with a gun: 19 in 2008 and 43 in 2009, a 126% increase.
• The number of robberies committed without a gun actually declined from 84 in 2008 to 75 last year.
• The number of robberies (with and without a gun) in PSA 307 has remained relatively stable for the 2006 through 2009 period: 118 in 2006, 117 in 2007, 103 in 2008 and 118 in 2009. But, the number of robberies with a gun in 2009 is above any of the three previous years (see chart below the fold).
• There were no homicides in PSA 307 in 2009. This compares to one homicide in 2006, three in 2008 and two in 2008. (One of the 2008 homicides was that of Durval Martins; the case is unsolved.)
• In terms of property crimes, the 4% drop in 2009 followed a 3% increase in 2008 and a 14% drop in 2007 (see chart below the fold).
• The number of burglaries, thefts from autos and stolen autos all declined in 2009 from the previous year in the Logan Circle area.
• However, the number of thefts rose 18% last year, which follows a 10% drop in 2008 and a 16% increase in 2007.
• Burglaries in PSA 307 declined noticeably last year, from 89 in 2008 to 67 in 2009–a 25% drop.

What’s Changed Since 2006?

A quick comparison of 2006 crime numbers with those of 2009 in PSA 307 shows:

• Total crime  (violent and property) has decreased 15%.
• Violent crime is down 18%. The major categories of violent crime are robberies and assaults which, together, have also declined 18% in three years: 193 in 2006, 170 in 2007, 144 in 2008 and 159 in 2009.
• Property crime is down 14%.

Logan/PSA 307 Total Crime 2006-2009

• 1,145 crimes in 2006
• 997 crimes in 2007 (13% decrease from 2006)
• 991 crimes in 2008 (less than 1% decrease from 2007)
• 974 crimes in 2009 (2% decrease from 2008 and a 15% decrease from 2006).

PSA 307 Crime Stats for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009

Crime Type	2006	2007	2008	2009
Homicide	1	3 (+300%)	2 (-33%)	0 (-100%)
Sex Abuse	5	7 (+450%)	5 (-29%)	5 (NC)
Robbery Excluding Gun	89	83 (-7%)	84 (+1%)	75 (-4%)
Robbery With Gun	29	34 (+17%)	19 (-44%)	43 (+126%)
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon Excluding Gun	65	46 (-29%)	37 (-20%)	35 (-5%)
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon With Gun	10	7 (-30%)	4 (-57%)	6 (+50%)
Total Violent Crime	199	180 (-10%)	151 (-16%)	164 (+9%)
Burglary	181	157 (-13%)	89 (-43%)	67 (-25%)
Theft	242	281 (+16%)	250 (-10%)	294 (+18%)
Theft From Auto	425	291 (-32%)	403 (+38%)	374 (-7%)
Stolen Auto	96	87 (-9%)	98 (+13%)	75 (-23%)
Arson	1	1 (NC)	0 (-100%)	0 (NC)
Total Property Crime	945	817 (-14%)	840 (+3%)	810 (-4%)
Total Crime	1,145	997 (-13%)	991 (<1%)	974 (-2%)

Source: MPD crime database.