Reported crime fell markedly in the Second District during the month of March, continuing a downward trend that started early this January, according to Metropolitan Police Department statistics.

The Second District, which includes the Georgetown campus and its surrounding neighborhoods, saw significantly decreased instances of reported burglaries and thefts in March compared to this time last year, according to the statistics.

Burglaries dropped 29.3 percent, from 41 to 29 reported cases, and the number of thefts dropped 22.1 percent, from 136 to 106. Automobile thefts have declined by 45.5 percent from 33 to 18, and thefts from automobiles fell 32.4 percent from 74 to 50. Robberies dropped only slightly, from 13 to 12 reported cases in March. Crime since the beginning of the year was down 19.9 percent compared to the same time last year.

No homicides have been reported in the Second District this year, compared to one homicide in the first three months of the previous year.

Overall crime in March has declined 25.8 percent, from 306 to 227 reported violations.

Some crimes bucked the overall trend, however. The number of assaults with a deadly weapon rose to 11 from nine committed the year prior. Four sexual assaults have occurred so far this year in the Second District, while only one was committed in the first three months of last year.

David Morrell, vice president for university safety, credited PD for the reduced frequency of off-campus crime.

“We have seen a definite drop in street crime in the off-campus area, which we are extremely pleased about,” he said. “We attribute that to the increased presence of MPD. But we have not seen a noticeable decrease in minor incidents on campus.”

An MPD officer who would only identify himself by his last name, Jones, said that more officers on the streets contributed to the decrease in neighborhood crime.

Earlier this month, MPD acquired a Segway scooter in an effort to extend the reach of officers while on patrol. One is currently in use on M Street, and in the next several weeks, five more Segway units will be deployed in the neighborhood, Jones said.

In January, the D.C. Police Focus Mission Team Scooter TACT Unit was deployed as a high visibility patrol to stop all suspicious persons in the Georgetown area, as part of an effort to prevent neighborhood crime.

Since February, the campus community has received only one public safety broadcast message per month, after a spate of assaults and robberies in January prompted university officials to send four broadcast messages that month.

The latest incident occurred last Saturday morning after two unidentified suspects assaulted a group of five Harbin residents with a knife at the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory. No injuries were reported.

“Anything MPD does impacts on us,” DPS director Darryl Harrison said. “It’s no question that corresponding efforts that [DPS] has been taking in coordination with MPD, with our power shift, and additional attention they have provided, that’s something I would definitely commend them for.”

DPS’ “power shift” is a late-night shift of squad officers, working in close coordination with MPD, who position themselves to quickly respond to crimes in areas immediately adjacent to the university, according to Harrison.

ANC commissioner Brett Clements (COL ’07) said he wanted to remind students that despite the drop in neighborhood crime, on-campus crimes such as laptop theft and residential burglary are still common.

“Students should still be aware of what’s going around them,” he said. “The minute you start to feel safe, that’s when crime spikes up again. . People need to be aware that they can’t leave their belongings around. So many students still don’t lock their doors.”

Clements also praised MPD’s efforts to combat crime in the area.

“[The police] made a concerted effort to curb crime at Georgetown, and I think it has paid off,” he said. “Even though everyone’s focused on the negative effects of students arrested for open container violations, the increased PD presence has definitely stopped people from committing crimes.”