Editorials

OAKLAND — The rate of nearly every violent crime, including murder, rape and robbery, rose nationwide since 2001, with crime in most parts of the Bay Area either following suit or holding steady, according to Federal Bureau of Investigations figures released Monday. 

Across the country in 2001, homicides were up 2.5 percent, robberies increased 3.7 percent and rapes rose 0.3 percent from the year before. Property theft also went up, with 5.7 percent more car thefts, 2.9 percent more burglaries and 1.5 percent more larcenies and thefts. 

Aggravated assault was the only category that decreased across the country, with 0.5 percent fewer incidents in 2001 than in 2000. 

Metropolitan regions in the Bay Area showed mixed results, with some areas reporting an elevated crime rate from 2000 to 2001 and other areas holding steady over the same period. 

Oakland saw 84 homicides in 2001 as opposed to 80 in 2000. As of tonight, 94 people have been slain in Oakland in 2002 with two months left in the year. However, rapes decreased from 2000 to 2001, from 320 to 295 reported incidents. Robberies rose from 1,929 to 2,125. 

In the entire East Bay, including all of Contra Costa and Alameda counties, murders decreased from 166 in 2000 to 157 the year following. During the same period the rate of reported rapes fell significantly, from 799 to 697. 

In the North Bay the crime rate barely changed. Sonoma County saw 11 murders in 2000 and 12 in 2001. Seventy-one rapes were reported in 2000, 72 the year after. And robberies decreased slightly, from 129 to 123 incidents. 

Crime in the South Bay also held steady, with Santa Clara County seeing 33 homicides in 2000 and 34 the year following. Reported rapes dropped slightly from 337 to 329, and robberies went from 677 to 712 occurrences. Mimicking the national trend, aggravated assaults rose from 3,895 to 4,501.