Public Safety
PUBLIC SAFETY 010 In Review 2 Part I crime in Greenbelt decreased 6.8% in 2010, from 1,396 reported incidents in 2009 to 1,300. Part I crimes are defined as murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft and auto theft. By comparison, the Washington Metropolitan region of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, known as UCR Region IV, experienced a 10.5% decrease in 2009, according to the latest published Maryland State Police Uniform Crime Report (May 10, 2010). Violent crimes of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault involve the element of personal confrontation between the perpetrator and the victim; consequently they are considered more serious crimes than property crimes because of their very nature. These offenses accounted for 16% of all crime in Maryland. For Greenbelt, violent crime comprised 14% of all Part I crimes indicating that Greenbelt falls in line with statewide violent crime trends. Crimes against persons, at 185, were the lowest since 2004, driven by a 17% decline in robbery, 106 reported incidents. Robbery remains the most prevalent violent crime in our community, accounting for 57% of all personal crime. Sixty- six (66) robberies occurred in Greenbelt West (62.2%), twenty-nine (29) in Greenbelt East (27.3%) and eleven (11) in historic Greenbelt (10.3%). The number of property crimes reported during 2010 (1,115) was over six times greater than the number of violent crimes. As a group, property crime made up 86% of the total crimes in 2010. Property crimes decreased 7% overall. Notably, motor vehicle theft (133) declined 25%. Geographically, 51% of crime occurred in Greenbelt West, 35% in Greenbelt East and 14% in historic Greenbelt.
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