Serious crime in the city of Frederick has spiked 8.7% from 2011 to 2012 according to statistics released by the Frederick Police Department from the Uniform Crime Report for reported Part I offenses during 2012. This increase follows a fairly low year for crime in 2011.

The largest jumps include aggravated assault, going up by 55 offenses and motor vehicle theft, increasing by nearly 50 offenses. Of the 127 stolen vehicles, 42 of them include motor scooters and police believe the new law that took effect on October 1st, 2012 requiring motor scooter registration and the wearing of helmet while operating the scooter will have an impact on this crime category.

Other crimes that increased include rape, increasing from 19 to 26, burglary from 235 to 245, thefts from 1,474 to 1,527 and robbery from 96 to 105. Homicides was the only category to decrease in 2012, going from two to one.

The Frederick Police Department tracked the number of offenses since 1991 and the number of offenses remains consistent over the past five years and continues to decrease when compared to population growth.