By Emily Henry
Violent crime rose in the Bay Area in 2012, according to data released by the FBI, but Fremont's numbers were down.
The statistics for murder, rapes, robbery and aggravated assaults from January to December 2012 show a spike for cities like Antioch, Santa Clara and Oakland, reflecting a rise in violent crime nationally — a first since 2006.
The 2012 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report compares violent crime rates in 2012 to 2011 in U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more. The full report will be released in the fall and include smaller cities.
Nationally, the western region of the United States experienced the steepest rise in violent crime. In the Bay Area, only four cities bucked the trend — Fremont, Concord, Santa Rosa and Vallejo.
Overall, violent crimes in Fremont dropped from 384 in 2011 to 306 in 2012 with the murder rate remaining the same with 2 homicides in both years.
The number of incidents or rape dropped by more than half to 14, compared to 35 the year before. Robberies dropped slightly from 156 to 132 in 2012, as did aggravated assaults from 191 to 158 and burglaries from 1,206 to 1,176.
Fremont, however, did see the number of larceny-theft crimes jump by 200 to 2,502 in 2012. Auto thefts also increased from 443 in 2011 to 581 in 2012.
Do you feel like Fremont is a safer city? Why? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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