Monday, May 23, 2011 | 4:36 p.m.
Most crimes in the Las Vegas area followed a national downward trend last year, but aggravated assaults and burglaries rose in 2010, according to FBI data released Monday.
The 2010 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report shows a 5.5 percent decrease nationwide in the number of violent crimes compared to 2009. The FBI compiles the report based on data supplied by 13,007 law enforcement agencies across the country.
Las Vegas followed suit, posting a nearly 3 percent decline last year in violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Of those, aggravated assault was the only crime to increase in Las Vegas, from 7,735 in 2009 to 7,886 last year — a nearly 2 percent uptick.
Despite a higher number of burglaries, property crimes in Metro’s jurisdiction were down 9.3 percent. Larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft also are included in property crime statistics.
Las Vegas recorded 312 more burglaries in 2010 than 2009, a 2.3 percent increase. Nationally, property crimes declined 2.8 percent during that time, according to the report.
The number of homicides in Metro’s jurisdiction was steady, with 107 last year and 111 in 2009.
Metro spokeswoman Laura Meltzer said it’s difficult to draw conclusions from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report because of how information is compiled around the country due to nuances in state laws.
Meltzer said Metro categorizes crimes using more detail, as opposed to lumping statistics together in broader categories such as “aggravated assault” and “burglary.” As a result, she said officers are able to target slight increases they notice in more specific crimes.
Henderson, the other Southern Nevada city listed in the report, also saw an overall decrease in violent crimes, with the exception of murder and aggravated assault.
Henderson recorded four more murders in 2010, bringing the total to eight. Aggravated assaults increased slightly, from 295 in 2009 to 311 last year.
Property crimes in Henderson increased, up by 25 from 2009. Burglaries and motor vehicle thefts in Henderson dipped, but larceny-thefts increased 8.4 percent since 2009.
Henderson and Las Vegas recorded seven and four arsons, respectively.
The FBI will release final figures for 2010 this fall in its Crime in the United States report.
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