Crime within the city of Gaithersburg has increased by 10.7 percent for the first quarter of 2012, as compared to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics for the first quarter of 2011, according to a Gaithersburg Police Department crime analysis report.
Rape decreased by 50 percent from four incidents to two; robbery increased 109.1 percent from 11 incidents to 23; and aggravated assault increased 54.5 percent from 11 incidents to 17. There were no homicides in 2011 and 2012 during the respective first quarter periods.
A summation of the individual crimes against persons reflects a total of 42 in the first quarter of 2012 or .46 crimes against persons per day.
An analysis of the property crimes revealed an increase of 44.7 percent for burglary (from 38 to 55); an increase of 5.2 percent for larceny (from 310 to 326); and a decrease in auto theft of 52.9 percent (from 17 to 8). There were a total of 389 property crimes or 4.3 property crimes per day.
Since the number of incidences of crimes against persons (rape, robbery and aggravated assault) is so small, the percentage increases and decreases may be misleading, say police. A better indicator of the amount of crime and trends is to look at the individual number of crimes for a particular type of crime.
An analysis of Part I Offense data shows that there was an increase this quarter (as compared to the same quarter in 2011) in robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and larcenies. There was a decrease in rapes and auto thefts.
An analysis of the data between the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 shows an overall decrease in crime of 5 percent. Part I Offenses decreased by 5.5 percent (from 456 to 431), and Part II Offenses decreased by 4.8 percent (from 905 to 862).
Part II Crimes are defined as minor assaults, arson, forgery-counterfeiting, bad checks, embezzlement, stolen property, vandalism, weapons offenses, prostitution, sex offenses, controlled dangerous substance (CDS) violations, gambling, family offenses, juvenile offenses, liquor law violations, disorderly conduct, suicide and non-traffic offenses.
“The Department does a daily analysis of where and when crime is occurring in the city of Gaithersburg. We will target those areas having the highest incidence of criminal activity with additional resources. By working together with our citizens, there is every reason to believe that we can make Gaithersburg even safer,” said Gaithersburg Police Chief Mark P. Sroka.
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) recently announced that the crime rate in the county has decreased for the fifth straight calendar year. According to statistics compiled by the MCPD, the crime rate has decreased by 18.8 percent between 2007 and 2011.
UCR statistics for year-end 2010 compared to year-end 2011 show that total crime decreased by 7.7 percent in Montgomery County as a whole. Part 1 crimes fell 10.9 percent, while Part 2 crimes decreased by 6 percent.
For more information about crime in the city of Gaithersburg, please visit the Gaithersburg Police Department online at www.gaithersburgmd.gov/police or call 301.258.6400. For Montgomery County Police Department information, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/poltmpl.asp.
Source: Gaithersburg Police Department and Montgomery County Police Department