Published on: Thursday, May 03, 2012

By Daryl Buchanan

From 2007 to 2011 the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) has reported an 18.8 percent decrease in total crime. That is five straight years where crime has fallen.
MCPD says that between 2010 and 2011 total crime fell 7.7 percent. A more detailed look shows that part 1 crimes fell 10.9 percent and part 2 crimes by 6 percent. 
Part 1 crimes are defined as crimes against a person such as murder, rape, robbery, burglary, and aggravated assault among others. Part 2 crimes are considered crimes such as arson, theft, vandalism, weapon offenses, and controlled dangerous substances to name a handful.
“The men and women of the Montgomery County Police Department continue to put a great deal of effort into reducing crime. And while our numbers went down in every category, crime did not go down in every area of the County,” said MCPD Police Chief Thomas Manger.

MCPD report that murder and rape both dropped by 5.9 percent and robbery fell 7.8 percent. Car theft saw the biggest drop of 18.5 percent in the part 1 category. 
The decrease in crime comes at a time when the county is planning to bolster its police force beginning in the fiscal year 2013.
County Executive Ike Leggett recently said he wants to add 43 officers in the county next year with the goal of an additional 140 over a three year time span.
MCPD Captain Paul Starks says despite the drops in crime the police force is still in need of officers. “We are a lean agency and have been for years. We’ve lost a lot of positions and hiring new officers is an effort to reclaim lost personnel. Even after new hires we will still be under our desired amount of officers,” said Captain Starks.