The Madison Police Department held a press conference Thursday to present the 2002 crime report, which stated crime in Madison was up from 2001 by 6.8 percent, an increase police officials said was insignificant.
The most substantial increase in crime was rape, up by 35.3 percent compared to 2001. Lt. Joe Balles said this was due to an unusually low number of rapes the previous year.
\When you look at things over a long term, the situation is really not what it appears,"" he said, adding that the average number of rapes over the past 20 years is 74. There were 88 rapes in 2002 according to the report.
Kelly Anderson, executive director of the Rape Crisis Center, said the increase also shows more victims of rape are willing to report the crime. She said rape is the most underreported crime with only 10 to 25 percent of victims reporting the assault.
The only two crimes that went down in the past year were robbery, down by 9.1 percent and stolen vehicles, down by 10.8 percent. Police officials said the rest of the crimes, including murder, aggravated assault and theft, were about average when compared to the last four or five years.
According to Police Chief Richard Williams, Madison is still one of the best places to live in the nation. Madison is ranked No. 2 as the best place to live and work by http://homeadvisor.msn.com, Employment Review Magazine and BestJobsUSA.com.
""The city of Madison has reported the lowest crime rate for a city of its size,"" Williams said.
Lt. Detective Jay Langfeld affirmed Williams' statement, saying Madison ""continues to be a safe place to live."" The most violent crimes reported occurred in the central district of Madison, while the most property crimes, such as burglary and arson, occurred on the West side of Madison.
