Police Say Crime Is Down in Prince George's County

Prince George's County Police Chief Mark Magaw says the number of crimes is down around the county, according to a recent interview with The Gazette.

The number of homicides is down by 37 percent from 2011, the paper writes. There were 95 homicides in the county last year. This year police have reported 49 homicides

Other crimes are down as well in comparison to last year, Magaw reported to The Gazette.

• Violent crimes—including assault, murder, rape and robbery—are down 4.7 percent.
• Property crimes are down 7.6 percent.
• Burglaries are down 24 percent.
• Stolen auto incidents are down 15.3 percent.
• Robberies are down 12.1 percent.

Magaw told The Gazette that various reasons have attributed to the decrease in crime, like streamlining the robbery unit, creating an evidence unit and shutting down 12 nightclubs. The Washington Times reported that magaw attributed the decrease in crime to police and community partnerships.

Crime also is down in DC. Police Chief Cathy Lanier reported that crime dropped 6 percent between 2010 and 2011, according to The Washington Times.

Yet, The Washington Times reports that calls for police assistance are up by 5 percent in the DC Metro region with Prince George's County receiving the most at 973,819 calls as of Sept. 13.