Washington, D.C. – Crime in metropolitan Washington continues on the downward trajectory experienced over the past several years. In 2011, violent and property crime fell by 6.3 percent, according to the 2011 Annual Report on Crime & Crime Control released today by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).
The total number of crimes in metropolitan Washington decreased from 135,974 in 2010 to 127,349 in 2011, despite continued population increase. The result is a declining crime rate per capita for the region, dropping from 26.97 crimes per 1,000 persons in 2010 to 25.02 crimes per 1,000 in 2011.
At the monthly meeting of the COG Board of Directors, District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Prince George’s County Police Chief Mark A. Magaw were on hand to discuss the report’s findings and take questions from Board members.
Their discussion focused on several key topics regarding crime in metropolitan Washington, including the importance of preventing young people from being recruited by gangs, ensuring that transit stations are safe environments, and continued regional law enforcement cooperation.
The Chiefs concluded by stressing the importance of better marketing and communications of good crime-related news, such as the fact that the region continues to outpace the nation as a whole in reductions of both violent and property crime.
Violent crime dropped by nearly 10 percent from 2010 to 2011, fueled by a 13.4 percent decrease in homicides and a 10.9 percent decrease in aggravated assaults. Property crime fell by almost six percent, led by a 10.5 and 10.3 percent decline in motor vehicle thefts and burglaries, respectively.
Since 2007, the region has experienced a 16.5 percent decline in overall crime, with major reductions in motor vehicle theft (-45.6 percent), homicide (-38.1 percent), aggravated assault (-23.8 percent), and robbery (-20.4 percent) fueling the drop.
The 2011 Annual Report on Crime & Crime Control includes these and other regional statistics, as well as data on individual jurisdictions in the region. To view/download the report, click here.