The Madison Police Department released findings Tuesday revealing that Madison experienced a decrease in many types of crime in 2009, despite an increase in theft.
According to the Uniform Crime Reporting data, crimes covered by the report dropped 4.4 percent in Madison from 2008 to 2009, with the number of offenses decreasing from 9,147 in 2008 to 8,740 in 2009.
MPD said additional officers on the street last year along with better crime analysis contributed to the ""positive impact on crime numbers.""
UCR data cover eight categories of crime: murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglaries, stolen vehicles, theft and simple assault.
Despite crime decreasing overall, incidents of theft increased over the past year, from 5,720 in 2008 to 6,015 in 2009.
According to figures released by MPD Central District Cpt. Mary Schauf in her December newsletter, theft from cars increased from 284 incidents in 2008 to 399 incidents in 2009.
Thefts from vehicles continue to be an issue, she said, because the ""quick cash provides money for drugs and alcohol.""
""Decreasing theft numbers is one current area of focus for officers,"" MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said in a statement.
""[This is] but one barometer on where Madison stands as far as public safety,"" he added. ""Despite statistically looking relatively good, areas of concern remain.""
