Washington, D.C. – Since 2010, the number of violent and property crimes has declined 8 percent in the National Capital Region, according to the 2014 Annual Report on Crime & Crime Control  released today by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). The report noted that this decrease has occurred while the region’s population has increased 9.2 percent over the same time period. The region is also at a five-year low in robberies and burglaries.

From 2013 to 2014, the region experienced a one percent decrease in overall crime according to the report, although the following crimes increased: rape (8.7 percent), aggravated assaults (3.9 percent), larcenies (1.3 percent) and motor vehicle thefts (less than one percent). The increases in larcenies and motor vehicle thefts drove a slight rise in the number of property crimes between 2013 and 2014, but that number is still 8.4 percent lower than five years ago.

The report said that over the last decade property crime has accounted for 87 percent of reported crime in the region, while violent crime constituted 13 percent.

At today’s monthly meeting of the COG Board of Directors, Takoma Park Police Chief Alan Goldberg, who serves as chair of the COG Police Chiefs Committee, was on hand to discuss the report’s findings and take questions from Board members. He was joined by Assistant Chief Patrick Burke of the Metropolitan Police Department, Metro Transit Police Chief Ronald Pavlik, and Metro Transit Police Strategic Planner Amy Phillips, who serves as chair of COG’s Police Policy and Planning Subcommittee.

Goldberg said that communication across borders in the region continues to improve and this enhanced information sharing has helped crime fighting efforts. The police officials also discussed the benefits and challenges associated with police body cameras as well as crime prevention outreach efforts.