U Street Area: Violent Crime Up, Property Crime Down

Violent crime was up last month in the U Street area on a year-over-year (YOY) basis, but a large drop in property crimes brought down the overall number of crimes. There were 37 total crimes in August 2010 compared to 32 in August 2009 and 29 in August 2008.

All numbers are from the MPD Crime Database. The U Street Corridor crime reporting area¹ (see map) covers a circular area that radiates 1,000 feet from 12th and U NW–an area that roughly runs from 14th Street on the west to 9th Street on the east and from W Street on the north to S Street on the south.

Violent crime: more robberies and assaults. Violent crime was up in the U Street area last month compared to both August 2009 and August 2008. There were nine violent crimes last month: five robberies, three assaults and one sex crime. The long gun crime was a robbery on the 900 block of T Street NW. This compares to five violent crimes in August 2008 when there were four robberies (one with a gun) and one assault. The only violent crime in August 2008 in the area was a robbery.

Declining property crime: fewer “smash and grabs.” In a trend seen all year, property crime declined in the U Street area in August on a YOY basis. There were 20 property crimes in the U Street area last month compared to 32 in August 2009 and 31 in August 2008. Last month’s number represents a 38% drop YOY from August 2009. The biggest decrease was in thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”)–there were 10 last month compared to 21 the previous August. The number of thefts declined from eight to five YOY.

Total crime stats for August 2008, 2009 and 2010 are below the fold.

U Street Corridor¹ Crime Stats for August 2008, 2009, 2010

Crime Type	August 2008	August 2009	August 2010
Homicide	0	0	0
Sex Abuse	0	0	1
Robbery Excluding Gun	1	2	4
Robbery With Gun	0	2	1
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) Excluding Gun	0	1	3
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (ADW) With Gun	0	0	0
Total Violent Crime	1	5	9
Burglary	0	1	2
Theft	6	8	5
Theft From Auto	21	21	10
Stolen Auto	4	2	3
Arson	0	0	0
Total Property Crime	31	32	20
Total Crime	32	37	29

Source: MPD Crime Database

¹ The U Street Corridor crime reporting area (see map above) covers a circular area that radiates 1,000 feet from 12th and U NW–an area that roughly runs from 14th Street on the west to 9th Street on the east and from W Street on the north to S Street on the south. This area is in Police Service Area (PSA) 305, which is part of MPD’s Third District.