After six years of steady decline, overall reported crime in Merced rose 5 percent in 2011, according to statistics released by the Police Department this week.
On a more encouraging note, the number of reported crimes is still far below the levels reported in 2004, when crime in the city reached its highest point since 2000.
The Part 1 crime statistics were compiled by Lance Eber, crime analyst for the Merced Police Department, and recently submitted to the FBI. Part 1 crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, auto theft and arson.
The department reported 4,274 Part 1 crimes in 2011, up from 4,067 in 2010.
A primary reason for the increase in overall crime was the city's growing number of property crimes, which went up roughly 13 percent, with 3,201 reported incidents in 2011 compared with 2,831 the prior year. Violent crime in the city dropped roughly 13 percent in 2011, with 1,073 incidents reported, compared with 1,236 in 2010.
The city's homicide rate remained unchanged last year, with seven reported in 2011 and 2010. Arrests were made in two of this year's cases.
The December officer-involved shooting death of 21-year-old Vang Thao wasn't included in the city's homicide statistics. It was classified in the data as a manslaughter. Thao was killed by officers who were shooting at another man.
Merced Police Chief Norm Andrade said he's encouraged by the decrease in violent crimes but very concerned about the rise in property crimes. "That affects so many more people. And it affects the quality of life," Andrade said. "And when people's houses are being broken into, they themselves feel very violated."
Among violent crimes, rapes fell the most dramatically in 2011 -- 39 percent -- with 20 incidents reported, compared with 33 in 2010. Robberies rose 6 percent, from 141 in 2010 to 149 in 2011. Assaults decreased 15 percent in 2011, with 897 incidents reported, compared with 1,055 the prior year.
Under the property crimes category, auto burglaries jumped 30 percent, with 313 reported last year compared with 241 in 2010. Burglaries increased 27 percent, with 802 reported in 2011, compared with 633 the prior year. Thefts increased 6 percent with 2,044 incidents reported.
Andrade said it's important to remember that the data track only reported crimes and that many incidents often go unreported.
It's hard to pinpoint one reason for the fluctuations in the number of crime incidents, he said, noting that many factors are involved.
The city experienced a steady crime decrease in recent years partially because of initiatives such as Measure C in 2005, which raised money for public safety improvements, he said.
But with fewer officers on the street because of recent layoffs and the dismal economy, Andrade said he's not surprised to see the rise in property crimes. "We have fewer people out there to do prevention work," he said. "We have less people to catch the criminals."
More lower-level offenders being released early from jail could result in property crimes going up again, he said. "The people who are committing these thefts -- breaking into vehicles, breaking into houses -- the people that are doing those types of property crimes, they're being released when they normally would not be released because the jails are too full," Andrade said.
The department is staffed with 85 sworn officers, compared with 111 five years ago. During better financial times, Andrade said, the department could spend more time working on crime prevention programs. But with a significantly reduced force his department must focus its energies on the highest-priority calls and less time addressing lower-level crimes such as theft and burglary, he said.
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