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County sees overall crime decline through Q3 2024; some property and weapons categories rise
Summary
Staff told the Public Safety Committee that overall crime in Montgomery County fell year-to-date through Sept. 30, 2024, with homicides down 46% and carjackings down 44%; however, shoplifting, some robberies and commercial burglaries increased and firearm-related violent crime showed mixed trends.
County staff presented the 2023 police statistical data report and year-to-date 2024 crime statistics, reporting overall declines in many major categories but also calling attention to persistent and rising problems in specific offense types.
Susan Farag told the committee that ‘‘overall crime has decreased significantly from last year,’’ with crimes against persons down 3% and crimes against property down almost 4% through the third quarter. She said homicides fell from 22 to 12 year-to-date, ‘‘representing a 46% reduction,’’ and that carjackings fell 44% after a prior spike.
Farag noted exceptions to the downward trend: commercial burglaries were up 7%, shoplifting increased 18%, and noncommercial robberies rose 15%. Auto thefts, which surged from 2019 through 2023, ‘‘have leveled off’’ and were down 2% this year, she said, while Kia and Hyundai models previously made up a large share of the thefts.
On firearms-related crime, staff said overall firearm-related violent crime increased slightly from 2022 to 2023 and showed a small rise into 2024 in some categories; contact shootings fell from 37 to 29 (a 22% reduction) and accidental discharges fell 50%. Privately made firearms (ghost guns) fell from 178 in 2022 to 99 in 2023 but recovered to 106 so far in 2024.
Farag also highlighted clearance and staffing challenges: total clearance rates fell from 48% in FY19 to 34% in FY24 and violent-crime clearance dropped to 26% in FY24. Staff cited short staffing, increased overtime and the new FBI reporting format (NIBRS) as factors that complicate clearance-rate comparisons and detective workload.
Department leaders described suppression and prevention initiatives — drone first-responder pilots, a real-time intelligence center, MOCO Connect camera sharing, special assignment teams and regional task forces — aimed at addressing clusters of violent incidents and auto-theft trends. Staff scheduled a fuller briefing on drones and the RTIC for Nov. 4 and a staffing update for Dec. 2.
The committee discussed juvenile arrest/referral definitions and how changes in juvenile-court practice may affect statistics; analytics staff confirmed arrest counts include arrests, referrals and citations. Members stressed prevention and off-ramp programs for youth, and staff described regional coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and state/federal partners to address cross-jurisdictional offending.
