Patch Stats: Alameda Robberies Drop in 2012

After an off-duty sheriff's deputy shot and killed a gunman during an attempted robbery at Bonfare Market on July 18, a commenter on Alameda Patch wondered if the robbery rate in Alameda was on the rise. 

Numbers from the California Department of Justice show that robberies of all types declined almost 20 percent between 2011 and 2012. Last year, Alameda recorded 80 robberies compared to 94 in 2011. 

The number of robberies cleared in Alameda has held steady at around 33 for the past three years. According to the FBI, a crime is considered cleared when an arrest has been made, a charge has been filed and the suspected criminal is turned over to a court for prosecution. 

The crimes in the chart above reflect the entire spectrum of robberies, ranging from a strong-arm robbery on the street to armed bank robbery.