Washington, D.C. - Crimes against persons and property—or Part I offenses—declined for the third consecutive year in metropolitan Washington, except in the categories of homicide and rape, according to the 2015 Annual Report on Crime and Crime Control. The report was released today by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), and is based on crime incidents reported by agencies from across the region.

Homicides in metropolitan Washington increased by 55 percent from the year prior. According to the report, departments across the country also reported a rise in homicides. Jurisdictions that reported increases linked homicides to repeat offenders, illegal firearms, gang-related activity, and domestic violence. Rape offenses in the region also increased by 3.7 percent. Decreases were reported in all other categories, which include robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle thefts. Despite receiving more than 313,000 calls for service from 2014 to 2015, the region experienced 7,700 fewer Part I offenses than the year before.

At today’s monthly meeting of the COG Board of Directors, Chairman Roger Berliner (Montgomery County) and other members including Phil Mendelson and Kenyan McDuffie (District of Columbia), expressed concern over the increases noted in the report. They requested that the COG Police Chiefs Committee conduct additional analysis looking into why these types of violent crimes are on the rise.

“We need your help to know what’s going on and what we can do collectively about it,” said Berliner to presenters from the COG Police Chiefs Committee.

Violent crime overall in the region has declined by more than 27 percent in the last ten years. Most notable is the reduction in the number of robberies, down 42.5 percent since 2006.

More: 2015 Annual Report on Crime and Crime Control