Data: Serious crimes decrease year-over-year in Alexandria

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Data: Serious crimes decrease year-over-year in Alexandria
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By Missy Schrott | mschrott@alextimes.com

Serious crime in Alexandria decreased by 13 percent in 2017, the Alexandria Police Department announced in a news release Thursday morning.

Crime reported in Alexandria in 2016 in comparison to 2017 (Courtesy image)

The decrease was specifically in Part I crimes, offenses classified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. Part I crimes are considered more serious than Part II crimes because they include crimes against people.

All but one type of the Part I crimes in Alexandria decreased in 2017. The only Part I crime rate to increase was aggravated assaults. The police department reported that in the majority of the cases, the people involved knew each other.

The 2017 statistics show some of the lowest levels of reported crimes in Alexandria since the 1960s. Since Alexandria generally has a low crime rate, however, small fluctuations in incidents can lead to large percentage changes in annual data comparisons, according to the release.

While Part I crimes decreased overall, calls for service increased significantly from 68,610 to 91,380. According to the release, the increase was primarily a result of more consistent reporting of traffic stops as calls for service and an increase in traffic stops because of the city’s Vision Zero safety initiative.

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