CHARTS: More Crime Downtown in 2012 Despite Citywide Drop

Crime has declined across Boston so far in 2012, but not in District A-1, where Beacon Hill lies, according to data released by the Boston Police Department this week.

In fact, the downtown A-1 district is the only in the city that saw an increase in crime, by 5 percent. There have been four homicides since January, compared with one for the same period last year. And there have been 78 more larcenies (or attempted larcenies) and 18 more cases of vehicle theft (or attempted vehicle theft). A bright spot, however, was news that burglary and attempted burglaries were down by 18 cases in A-1. (Note: These figures are for District A-1 as a whole, which includes Downtown Crossing, the Financial District and surrounding areas. They do not represent crimes on Beacon Hill alone.)

Much of the crime on Beacon Hill is a result of people breaking into cars. Police say these types of crimes can be .

Overall, throughout Boston most types of crime have notched downward—though the city has seen two additional homicide incidents in 2012 when compared to 2011, and has also seen a marginal increase in aggravated assaults.

See the above graphs or the department’s original table for more.