First Six Months of 2012: Crime in Borderstan Up Slightly from 2011

From Cody Telep. Follow him on Twitter @codywt, email him at cody[AT]borderstan.com.

There were 1,300 serious crime incidents this year in Borderstan through June 30, up slightly from 1,238 recorded in the first six months of 2011. The incidents divided by offense type for 2012 and 2011 are provided in the table below. Not surprisingly, the less serious property crimes dominate the overall numbers. Nearly 73% of the incidents are either thefts or thefts from auto.

The trends are similar to what we saw in our examination of crime for the first three months of the year (see Crime in First Three Months of 2012 Up Only Slightly from 2011). Burglaries are down fairly dramatically from 2011 numbers, and there has been a steep increase in the number of stolen autos. Overall incidents are up about 5% so far compared to last year. While assaults with a deadly weapon were up slightly from 2011 numbers in the first three months of 2012, through the end of June they are down slightly compared to last year.

2012 vs. 2011: First Six Months

Offense	2011 Frequency	2012 Frequency	% Change
Assault with a Deadly Weapon	64	53	-17.2%
Homicide	1	0	–
Robbery	109	139	+27.5%
Sex Abuse	6	6	0%
Arson	1	2	–
Burglary	124	63	-49.2%
Stolen Auto	53	91	71.7%
Theft	361	412	14.1%
Theft from Auto	519	534	2.9%
TOTAL	1,238	1,300	5.0%

Robberies

Looking specifically at robberies, the total number of incidents stands at 139 through the end of June, up from 109 at this point last year. In the table below, robberies are divided by type. Force and violence is the most frequent robbery type. Slightly more than one in five 2012 robberies in Borderstan have involved a gun. Snatches are also fairly common and often involve victims on their smart phones not paying attention to their surroundings. The 1400 block of V Street NW has recorded the most robberies in Borderstan so far this year with four total.

Robbery Type	2012 Frequency	%
Force and Violence	45	32.3%
Gun	30	21.6%
Snatch	27	19.4%
Knife	8	5.8%
Pickpocket	8	5.8%
Assault with Intent	5	3.6%
Fear	5	3.6%
Pocketbook Snatch	5	3.6%
Attempt	3	2.1%
Other Armed	2	1.4%
Stealth	1	0.7%
TOTAL	139	100.0%

Crime on Selected Blocks

What street blocks have overall seen the most incidents so far this year?  The table below includes a lot of familiar faces. The 1400 block of P Street NW, which had the most incidents in Borderstan in both 2010 and 2011 leads the way in 2012 so far with 26 total incidents.

The  1300 block of U Street NW, which had the second most incidents in 2010 and 2011, is again in second in 2012 with 20 incidents so far (see 2011 Borderstan Crime: More Thefts from Auto Drive Crime Rate Up). Although the 1400 block of P Street NW had the most total incidents, most of these were not violent crimes. There were two robberies on the block (neither of which involved a gun) and 24 instances of theft.

Rank	Block (B/O = block of)	Incidents
1.	1400 B/O P Street NW	26
2.	1300 B/O U Street NW	20
3.	1600 B/O Connecticut Avenue NW	19
4.	800 B/O Mount Vernon Place NW	18
5.	2000 B/O 14th Street NW	14
6.	1300 B/O Q Street NW	13
6.	900 B/O M Street NW	13
6.	Dupont Circle	13
9.	1300 B/O Corcoran Street NW	12
9.	1600 B/O 7th Street NW	12
9.	1700 B/O Connecticut Avenue NW	12

 

The summer often brings an increase in crime as opportunities tend to rise with more people spending time outdoors. There were 261 total incidents in June in Borderstan, the highest monthly total so far this year. The Metropolitan Police Department has a number of helpful safety tips to help avoid becoming the victim of a serious violent or property crime.

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