ROCKLAND, Maine — The number of crimes reported in the city last year was at its lowest level since records have been kept.
Police Chief Bruce Boucher said the continued decline in crime is a national trend but he attributed the sharp drop locally to several factors.
The chief said he is a believer in the “20-80 principle” in which he maintains 20 percent of offenders commit 80 percent of the crimes. The department focuses its attention on repeat offenders and works closely with other departments in the region to solve crimes and arrest perpetrators.
“We share information like never before,” Boucher said. “We know if someone is committing a crime in a nearby community they may also target Rockland.”
There were 248 crimes during 2013 that are included in the uniform crime reports filed annually with the Maine Department of Public Safety. The offenses included in the report are limited to murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, stolen vehicles and arson.
The 248 figure is down from 326 crimes reported in 2012, 366 in 2011, and 427 in 2010. As late as 2005, there were 500 reported crimes in Rockland.
The most crimes recorded in Rockland since the uniform crime reports were mandated in 1973 was in 1980 when the city reported 749 offenses.
The category of crimes which saw the steepest drop last year was larceny, or theft. There were 202 larcenies reported to the department, down from 282 in 2012. The chief said the relocation of Walmart to Thomaston in mid-October may have played a small role in that decline since incidents of shoplifting at the store were no longer reported to Rockland.
There were 31 burglaries reported in 2013, up from 23 in 2012.
There were seven aggravated assaults — assaults in which a person is injured or a weapon is used — up from five in 2012.
Eight motor vehicles were reported stolen — one fewer than the previous year.
There were no murders, rapes or arsons in the city during 2013. There was one report of a rape but investigators determined the complaint was unfounded, the chief said.
The department also cleared 46 percent of the reported crimes through arrests, the chief said. This represented the highest clearance level in at least 10 years.
“We are blessed with an outstanding crew,” the chief said.