We’ve compiled the latest set of crime data from the city of Seattle for the first three months of 2010, showing a small drop in overall crime compared to the same period in 2009. February was an especially quiet month, marking the lowest level of overall crime in the neighborhood since the city’s modern statistic gathering started in January of 2008.
The decline was led by a major decline in robberies and assaults, bringing the total down in spit of significant increases in burglaries and auto thefts:
- Robberies*: 22 incidents, down 44% vs. Q1 2009
- Assaults: 92 incidents, down 19%
- Thefts: 323 incidents, up 1%
- Burglaries: 103 incidents, up 8%
- Auto Thefts: 53 incidents, up 51%
- Total: 597 incidents, down 1%
The change in the stats were not uniform across the neighborhood, with the northeastern area seeing a large increase, the northwest area a large decrease, and little change in the southwest and southeast police beats that cover the Central District:
- C3 (Montlake, Madison Park, Madison Valley, northern Madrona): up 22%
- G1 (Squire Park): down 21%
- G2 (Jackson Place, Judkins, Colman): down 1%
- G3 (Garfield, Leschi, southern Madrona): up 1%
You can see from this graph covering the last two years that the first half of the year is generally the quietest of all. Be prepared for a seasonal increase in burglaries and thefts as the weather gets nicer and school lets out.
* Layman’s definition of property crimes:
- Robbery: When violence is used or threatened to steal something
- Burglary: When someone enters a residence or business to steal something
- Theft: When something is stolen from inside an unoccupied structure, from inside a vehicle, shoplifting, pickpocket, or other unattended property
- Auto Theft: When a vehicle is stolen