Violent Crime Down, Property Crime Up in 2008

CHARLES COUNTY - 2/12/2009

Charles County Sheriff Rex W. Coffey announced Feb. 11, that preliminary year end crime results indicate violent crime went down 6.1 percent where property crime rose 1.6 percent in 2008. Overall, there was a slight increase in crime – less than half of 0.1 percent, or a difference of 18 crimes. In 2008, there were a total of 5,107 crimes compared to 5,089 in 2007. The year-end results show a decline in almost every category of violent crime. Forcible rapes declined 21.2 percent, robberies down 5.1 percent, and aggravated assaults down 6.7 percent. Homicides increased to 10 in 2008 compared to 4 in 2007.

Addressing the increase, Sheriff Coffey said, “We examined the homicides, looking for notable trends and found most of the homicides were the tragic result of an argument. Many of the cases involved people who were known to each other and unfortunately, there was nothing we could have done differently to prevent them from occurring.” Detectives made arrests in seven of the homicides and continue to work leads in the other cases. 

Almost every category of property crime showed declines: burglaries declined by 0.4 percent and stolen vehicles went down 11.6 percent. Thefts increased from 3049 in 2007 to 3173 in 2008 or a difference of 124. Earlier in the year, Coffey said he was sure the region would see an increase in thefts, particularly as the economy worsened.  

Citing the economy and the county’s growth, Coffey said it’s important to note that even with an increase in population and tough economic times, crime trends remained relatively unchanged from the previous year and are comparable to crime trends 10 years ago. “Any law enforcement agency will tell you that with an increase in population, comes an increase in crime. What I find incredible is Charles County has had tremendous population growth since 1995 and yet crime did not keep pace with that growth. This speaks volumes and tells me we’re on the right path.” But, Coffey cautioned, “We won’t get complacent because really, any crime is unacceptable. We will continue to look for ways to stay ahead of the population and crime and focus our efforts on identifying crime trends early and tackling the problems head on.”  

Sheriff Coffey said the Agency’s ability to be successful is marked by several key factors starting with the work performed by crime analysts. “On a daily basis, they analyze crime reports from the previous day and prepare critical data for our district commanders who then determine the best course of action for deploying officers.

Regarding officer deployment and the importance of police visibility, Coffey said, “A strong police presence can have a significant impact on crime. If our citizens see police, so can the criminals.” Coffey emphasized, “One of my goals has been to increase our presence on the street by moving officers away from desk jobs and putting them out in our community.”     

Deployment initiatives including the Neighborhood Enforcement Unit and the US Marshals Regional Task Force combined with new technology such as the Mobile Data Terminals, TAG Readers and Crime Mapping were also important. “The capacity of the Agency, with all of the elements in place to do productive police work - combined with the right equipment, good technology and enhanced training -plays a significant role in keeping our county safe,” said Coffey.”

Sheriff Coffey praised the men and women of the Agency for their hard work and said, “These results speak to the importance of staying the course, which our officers did. In addition, the community played an important role by doing their part by working with us in helping us solve crime. Much of the reason as to why our crime numbers remain low is day in, day out, focused police work, on the street, when and where we should be.”