Crime & Safety

Crime Down in 4th District Overall in 2010

But rape cases increase 60 percent in the district.

Crime is down in Montgomery County overall, the police department showed with release of the 2010 end-of-year statistics last week, dropping 8.7 percent for all crimes. However, murders and burglaries increased, 41.7 and 10.4 percent respectively, with most of the increase coming from the 3rd District for murders and the 1st District for burglaries.

But what about the 4th District, the police coverage area roughly from the Dennis Avenue area all the way up Olney?

The 4th District, much like in 2009, recorded about one-fifth of the County's crime in 2010. While there are six districts in the county police department, other districts like Germantown and Bethesda have fewer total criminal offenses than the 4th. The 3rd District, located in downtown Silver Spring and further east in the county, recorded the most crimes per district.

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Overall, the crime rate decrease in the 4th District almost matches the county's at 8.3 percent. Crime is down or flat year-over-year in the 4th district in all but two offenses. Rapes increased 60 percent, from 15 cases in 2009 to 24 in 2010. The 4th district was the only area in county in which rape cases increased.

Burglaries, both residential and commercial increased, 10.7 percent from 2009 to 2010. However, burglaries rose across the county, and significantly so in the Bethesda district.

Find out what's happening in Wheatonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For full 2010 report, visit Montgomery County Police's website. Wheaton Patch will have a deeper look into the "why" of these numbers soon.


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