MAJOR CRIMES INCREASE INCIDENTS STILL FAR BELOW PEAK IN 1997.Byline: Greg GREG Great Egg Harbor National Scenic and Recreational River (US National Park Service) Botonis Staff Writer PALMDALE - Breaking a two-year trend of steep declines, serious crime increased 5.3 percent in Lancaster and 13.8 percent in Palmdale in 2000, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. FBI crime statistics released Wednesday. Despite last year's upswing Upswing An upward turn in a security's price after a period of falling prices. , serious crime remained about 34 percent lower in Lancaster and 22 percent lower in Palmdale than at the local crime peak in 1997, records show. ``We knew eventually that we would hit bottom and after a while begin to go back up,'' said Capt. Tom Pigott, commander of the Lancaster sheriff's station. ``What it takes is a concerted effort by the community as well as law enforcement.'' Offenses included in the FBI's index of major crimes - murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he or she attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another or causes such injury purposely, knowingly, or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life; or attempts to cause or purposely or , vehicle theft, theft, burglary burglary, at common law, the breaking and entering of a dwelling house of another at night with the intent to commit a felony, whether the intent is carried out or not. and arson arson, at common law, the malicious and willful burning of the house of another. Originally, it was an offense against the security of habitation rather than against property rights. - totaled 4,323 in 2000 in Lancaster, up from 4,107 in 1999. In Palmdale, those offenses increased from 3,867 to 4,392. Serious crime totals peaked in 1997 at 6,558 in Lancaster and 5,660 in Palmdale, FBI records show. The number of crimes declined in Lancaster to 5,405 in 1998 and 4,107 in 1999. In Palmdale, the number of crimes declined to 4,836 in 1998 and 3,867 in 1999. Last year, the largest increase was in thefts, up from 1,565 to 1,982 in Palmdale and from 1,612 to 1,874 in Lancaster. Robberies declined in Palmdale and aggravated assaults in Lancaster. Pigott said local increases in some categories, such as rape, seemed consistent with upswings nationally, where the FBI reported that the rate of incidents had leveled off after several years of declines. Some of the local increase also could be due to population, which rose an estimated 1.8 percent in both cities between 1999 and 2000, or to more efficient indexing of larceny larceny, in law, the unlawful taking and carrying away of the property of another, with intent to deprive the owner of its use or to appropriate it to the use of the perpetrator or of someone else. and theft reports, officials said. ``We can't speculate on the exact causes, but we are certainly classifying some crimes that we haven't done in the past,'' Pigott said. For just over a year, both Lancaster and Palmdale sheriff's stations have been using a new program called Larcisists, which records all larceny and theft reports in a database. During 2000, the FBI said, Palmdale crime increased in the categories of aggravated assault, burglary, theft, auto theft and arson. Thefts showed the highest increase, rising 26.6 percent from 1,565 in 1999 to 1,982 in 2000. Arson rose 15.4 percent from 39 to 45. Burglaries increased 6.31 percent from 873 to 928, and aggravated assaults rose 5.7 percent from 718 to 757. Auto theft increased 5.5 percent from 475 to 501. Robberies decreased 6.8 percent from 192 to 179. Forcible forc·i·ble adj. 1. Effected against resistance through the use of force: The police used forcible restraint in order to subdue the assailant. 2. Characterized by force; powerful. rapes decreased 2.5 percent from 49 to 39. Murders remained the same at six each year. In Lancaster, aggravated assault was the only category in which crime decreased, down 23.8 percent from 887 in 1999 to 676 in 2000. Murders remained the same at five each year. Forcible rape increased 102 percent in Lancaster, from 41 to 83. Arson increased 31.2 percent from 48 to 63. Robberies jumped 25.7 percent from 183 to 230 and auto theft increased 8.4 percent from 391 to 424. Burglary increased 6.2 percent from 988 to 1,049. Theft rose 3.8 percent from 1,612 to 1,874. ANTELOPE VALLEY This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley CRIME CHART Serious crime went up in 2000 in both Lancaster and Palmdale, FBI statistics show. CITY TOTAL MURDER RAPE ROBBERY AGGRAVATED ag·gra·vate tr.v. ag·gra·vat·ed, ag·gra·vat·ing, ag·gra·vates 1. To make worse or more troublesome. 2. To rouse to exasperation or anger; provoke. See Synonyms at annoy. BURGLARY LARCENY MOTOR CRIME ASSAULT THEFT VEHICLE THEFT Lancaster 1999 4,107 5 41 183 887 988 1,612 391 2000 4,323 5 63 230 878 1,049 11,674 424 Palmdale 1999 3,867 6 40 192 716 873 1,565 475 2000 4,392 6 39 179 757 928 1,982 501 CAPTION(S): chart Chart: Antelope Valley Crime Report (see text) |
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