News Release
May 20, 2009
Most Major Crimes Down in City of Concord
INITIAL RELEASE (05/20/2009): The California Department of Justice recently released their annual crime reports for cities in California. Once again the City of Concord has seen most crime categories fall in 2008. The DOJ report, "Crime in 2008, January through December," shows the Concord community enjoyed an overall crime rate decrease in 2008 over 2007. Only homicide experienced an increase: from 3 in 2007 to 6 in 2008. "Even one homicide is too many," commented Chief David Livingston," but in 2008 we had a highly unusual double homicide involving a drug deal gone bad." "The good news," he continued, "is that all other reporting categories in the DOJ report were down - in some cases significantly." The total number of violent crimes in Concord dropped by 13.6% in 2008, (492 in 2007 to 425 in 2008). Likewise, property crimes were down 13.7%, (2900 in 2007 to 2502 in 2008).
"We are pleased with the Department of Justice statistics, and I know much of the credit rests with a vigilant community and the dedicated men and women of the police department," said Chief Livingston. He added, "crime statistics tend to go up and down year-to-year, but last year we experienced sustained drops in many areas, including robberies. Chief Livingston remarked, "Even with a troubled economy we are still seeing a drop in property crimes such as petty and grand theft. It is my hope the community and the police keep up our strong partnership to continue this trend of lower crimes and a safer city."
The other major crime categories are as follows:
| Category | 2007 | 2008 | Percent Decline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rape | 13 | 12 | N/A |
| Robbery | 270 | 206 | DOWN20.0% |
| Aggravated Assault | 206 | 191 | DOWN 7.3% |
| Burglary | 816 | 802 | DOWN1.7% |
| Auto Theft | 1212 | 979 | DOWN19.2% |
| Grand Larceny | 872 | 721 | DOWN17.3% |
Contact: Steve Dyer, Administrative Lieutenant
Office of the Chief of Police
(925) 671-5072 - Office
(925) 250-8153 - Cell
Contacts
Leslye Asera, Community Relations Manager, (925) 671-3272
lasera@ci.concord.ca.us