Violent crime down, property crime up in Va. Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH

For the third year in a row, violent crime decreased in Virginia Beach last year, according to crime statistics released by the Police Department on Tuesday.

But for the first time in nearly a decade, the city saw a significant jump in the number of property crimes.

Violent crime - criminal homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault combined - declined 13.1 percent in 2009, according to police statistics. Meanwhile, property crimes - burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson - increased 5 percent.

The last time there was an increase in property crimes was in 2007, when they went up 0.1 percent. Before that, the last increase was in 2000, when property crimes jumped 10.5 percent.

The rise in property crimes was largely driven by burglaries, shoplifting and larceny from motor vehicles, police Chief Jake Jacocks Jr. said Tuesday during a briefing before City Council.

He couldn't say for sure whether the economy was to blame.

"It's really hard to say," Jacocks said. "I think there is some relation."

"As bad as the economy is, I would think that most people would think there would've been 376 more break-ins," last year rather than an increase of just 76, he said.

Although violent crime as a whole decreased, there were more homicides and rapes in 2009 than in 2008, according to police statistics. There were 18 homicides last year and 15 in 2008.

There were 78 rapes in 2009 compared with 69 in 2008. Fourteen of those were committed by strangers, Jacocks said. The others were committed by acquaintances or in domestic situations, he said.

Other notable crime statistics released Tuesday:

- Robbery decreased 17.8 percent, to 442 from 538;

- Aggravated assault decreased 12.5 percent, to 371 from 424;

- Burglary increased 4 percent, to 1,986 from 1,910;

- Larceny increased 6.2 percent, to 10,669 from 10,042;

- Motor vehicle theft decreased 7.8 percent, to 564 from 612;

- Arson decreased 16.2 percent, to 109 from 130.

Jacocks showed maps of some of the city's crime "hot spots," including the Oceanfront, the neighborhoods surrounding the intersection of Independence Boulevard and Lynnhaven Parkway, and around Virginia Beach Boulevard south of Northampton Boulevard. Those areas have historically had higher crime rates, Jacocks said.