PSA 305: Violent Crime Stable, Property Crime Down in 2010

The 2010 crime numbers are in for DC. In terms of increases and decreases, how do citywide numbers compare to the Dupont-Logan-U Street areas? Overall, crime was down for both.

In PSA 305 there were 214 violent crimes in 2010 (212 in 2009) and 779 property crimes in 2010 (1,008 in 2009). Total crime was down 19% year-over-year.

Today we look at the Police Service Area (PSA) 305, which includes the U Street area as well as the Howard University campus and the LeDroit Park neighborhood. Last week we reported on Dupont Circle’s PSA 208 and Logan Circle’s PSA 307.

PSA 305 Numbers

In PSA 305, violent crime was stable in 2010 from 2009: there were 214 violent crimes compared to 212 in 2009. A huge decrease in the number of robberies committed with a gun kept the number stable despite increases in the other five types of violent crime. Property crimes — 78% of all crimes — declined 23% (rising burglaries was an exception in the property crime category). As a result, total crime was down 19% last year in PSA 305.

There was a 28% drop in the number of gun crimes reported in PSA 305 — 54 in 2010 compared to 78 in 2009. Gun crimes are robberies and assaults (and homicides) committed with guns. There were four homicides last year in PSA 305, twice as many as in 2009. In addition, the number of sex abuse crimes was up noticeably to nine from three in 2009.

Check Borderstan’s Local Resources Page for links to information on police and crime.

The four-year trend for PSA 305 shows that total crime in 2010 was 19% lower than in 2007. Violent crime has declined 15% in that period while property crime declined 21%.

Citywide Numbers

For 2010, the total number of crimes in DC — six types of violent crimes and five types of property crimes — declined by 8% from 2009 while property crime declined by 8%. Total crime (the two categories together) was down 8% in D.C. in 2010.

In D.C. there were 31,059 total crimes — 7,000 of these were violent crimes and 24,059 were property crimes. Citywide, there were declines in every category except for two: assault with a dangerous weapon without a gun (up 3%) and burglaries (up 14%). Homicides declined again in DC, by 8% in 2010 — to 131 from 143 in 2009.

Specific Crimes in PSA 305

• There were 147 robberies in PSA 305 in 2010 compared to 162 in 2009; 44 of the robberies were committed with guns compared to 69 in 2009.
• There were 54 assaults in 2010 compared to 45 in 2009; 10 of the assaults were committed with guns compared to nine in 2009.
• The number of burglaries went up dramatically from 54 in 2009 to 84 last year, a 56% increase.
• Thefts declined 9% in 2010 to 251.
• Thefts from autos (“smash and grabs”) declined 37% last year to 355 from 560 in 2009.
• In 2010 the number of stolen autos declined 26% to 88 from 119 in 2009.

PSA 305 Crime Stats for 2010

Police Service Area 305
Year	Total Crimes	Violent Crimes	Property Crimes	Gun Crimes	Homicides
2010	993	214	779	54	4
2009	1,220	212	1,008	78	2
2008	1,332	254	1,078	73	4
2007	1,232	252	980	85	4

• Total Crimes are Violent and Property Crimes combined.
• Violent crimes are homicides, sex abuse, robbery excluding gun, robbery with gun, assault with dangerous weapon excluding gun and assault with dangerous weapon with gun.
• Property crimes are burglary, theft, theft from auto, stolen auto and arson.
• Gun Crimes are robberies and assaults committed with a gun. Gun crimes are counted here in Violent Crimes.
• Homicides are counted as part of Violent Crimes and were most likely committed with guns.
• The percentage numbers in the charts show the change in 2010 from the previous year.
• All numbers are from the DC MPD Crime Database.