Dan Genz, The Examiner
2008-01-08 08:00:00.0
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Alexandria -

Alexandria violent crime fell more than 32 percent in the first half of 2007, the FBI said Monday in its preliminary report on crime statistics.

Rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults fell at least 30 percent from 2006 for the six months from January to June, even as homicides climbed from four to five.

The Alexandria Police Department disputed the figures, saying there are disparities from its data in each category except homicides, Lt. James Bartlett said.

Nationally, violent crime fell 1.8 percent as rates of homicide (1.1 percent), rape (6.1 percent), robberies (1.2 percent) and aggravated assault (1.7 percent) all declined.

“It’s a good start,” the FBI said in its report, noting crime rates fell for the first time in two years.

“It’s showing a decrease in violent and property crime where we’ve seen increase in recent years,” FBI spokesman Bill Carter said. “It’s a hopeful sign that crime is going down.”

Despite those decreases, homicide rates rose in counties nationwide and violent crime rose 1.1 percent in nonmetropolitan counties and cities with populations between 10,000 and 24,999.

Data on other Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland cities and counties won’t be released until the fall, Carter said.

Although Alexandria police expect to report a decrease in violent crime, Bartlett said the most accurate picture of crime statistics will not be available until April, after the city has had a chance to go through all of its 2007 records.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com