The number of violent offenses in Howard dropped in 2007, reaching the lowest numbers in five years, according to a recent crime report, but a jump in thefts contributed to an increase in property crimes.
The county?s violent crime rate, which measures the number of crimes per 100,000 people, decreased from 221 in 2006 to 206 in 2007.
The rate remains drastically lower than Maryland?s statewide violent crime rate of 678, police said.
“This is a good indicator that Howard County continues to be a safe county to live and work and play in,” said Council Chairwoman Courtney Watson, D-District 1.
The county saw a reduction in rapes and robberies, but homicides increased slightly from four to five, with only two arrests made for homicides in 2007.
Aggravated assaults remained the same at 292 reported cases, but police made more arrests, which the department attributes in part to its year-old domestic violence unit that allows detectives to focus specifically on domestic crimes.
However, the report indicated an increase in the number of police officers who were assaulted in 2007, which rose from 101 to 137 cases.
“Sadly, we tend to see the number of assaults on officers creeping up almost every year, not only in Howard County, but regionally and even nationally,” police spokeswoman Sherry Llwellyn said.
“I don?t know that we can put our finger on any one issue that causes it, but it?s steadily increasing.”
Despite a decrease in burglaries and motor vehicle thefts, the county saw an increase in total property crimes because of a rise in theft cases from 5,170 in 2006 to 5,423 in 2007.
