Last month, we took a look at January’s crime statistics and considered whether the District’s ten-year trend towards reduced crime had found its lower bound. Then, homicides were up a shade over 2005, but the First, Third, and Fifth police districts saw large jumps for assault, robbery, and burglary. At the same time, the Sixth and Seventh districts, across the Anacostia, saw substantial decreases in reported crime.

One month on, the picture has muddied. Citywide, total crime levels are on par with the numbers for 2005, but the mix of crimes has shifted. Where most crimes have held steady or dropped, robberies and burglaries continue to stay above the previous year’s numbers, and the frequency of homicides has been appallingly high this year: up 33 percent in 2006, and up 112 percent in February versus the same month one year ago. Through February, D.C. was on a pace for 260 annual homicides, highest in the city since 2002, but March’s numbers have shown some improvement.