Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker had good news to share Thursday. Although the county has experienced two murders in past two days, crime in the county has decreased significantly over the past three years.
"Today we are not declaring victory; we are declaring progress," said Prince George's County Council Chair Mel Franklin.
Between 2010 and 2013, overall crime dropped by 27 percent. Some other notable numbers:
- Murders are down 38 percent.
- Violent crime is down 30 percent.
- Property crime is down 26 percent.
Baker -- along with PGPD Chief Mark Magaw, Gov. Martin O'Malley and others, announced the new statistics at Wegman's in Lanham, which opened to great fanfare in 2010.
There were nine deaths last year that are believed to be domestic-related.
"I really want us to look at domestic violence and get a handle around that," Baker said. "You can't police your way out of domestic bioelnce. We've got to look at some of the underlining causes of it."
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State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said the decreased crime rates are helping bring businesses into the county. Her office has a 95 percent conviction rate in homicides, she said.
Officials say community policing strategies have led to the reduction in crime.
