The number of serious sex assaults in the District skyrocketed nearly 50 percent this year compared with 2009, according to internal police statistics obtained by The Washington Examiner.
As of Dec. 12, there had been 200 serious sexual assaults in the city, compared with 137 at that point in 2009 -- a 46 percent spike. The police department's 2nd District, which extends from Georgetown through Foggy Bottom and north to Chevy Chase, saw a near tripling in the number of sexual assaults as it went from nine in 2009 to 24 in 2010. They nearly doubled in the 3rd District -- from Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights to downtown -- and in the 7th District, which includes Anacostia, Barry Farms and Washington Highlands.
The internal documents state that the numbers only include first- and second-degree sexual assaults. A first-degree sexual assault is when the attacker forces sex through direct violence. A second-degree assault occurs when violence is threatened in order to force sexual relations.
But the police department's public numbers tell a different story.
| Why the spike? |
| Emilio C. Viano, a profesor of criminology at American University, said it's difficult to explain the District's sharp upswing in the number of violent sexual attacks. |
| Other than the obvious reason -- more incidents occurring -- it could be attributed to a higher percentage of the incidents actually getting reported, he said. |
| "Basically, there is more awareness," Viano said. "An awareness to think about there is a possiblity and likelihood that a crime has taken place ... and police and workers in the medical community are more sensitive and better at spotting signs of sex violence." |
| Also, he said, it "could be that the previous numbers were 'cooked' for political reasons." - Scott McCabe |
| Serious sex assaults by police district: |
| (through Dec. 12) |
| > 1st (the Capitol, Washington Convention Center, Verizon Center): 32% increase: 19 in 2009; 25 in 2010 |
| > 2nd (Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Chevy Chase): 167% increase: 9 in '09; 24 in '10 |
| > 3rd (Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Faragut Square): 72% increase: 18 in '09; 31 in '10 |
| > 4th (Fort Totten, Petworth): 20% decrease: 25 in '09; 20 in '10 |
| > 5th (Brookland, Trinidad): 78% increase: 18 in '09; 32 in '10 |
| > 6th (Kenilworth, Hillcrest): 17% increase: 30 in '09; 35 in '10 |
| > 7th (Anacostia, Barry Farms, Washington Highlands): 94% increase: 17 in '09; 33 in '10 |
| Source: Internal police documents |
In an e-mail to
The Examiner, police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said the number of adult sexual assaults is up 11 percent citywide from 2009. She said there were 260 reported sexual assaults in 2010 compared with 233 reported sexual assaults in 2009. Those numbers, however, include everything from inappropriate touching -- a misdemeanor -- to forced sex, she said.
"Domestic cases account for a significant amount of sexual offenses," Crump said.
The D.C. police department's statistics and those from internal documents, as well as those kept by the FBI, have routinely differed. Two weeks ago, the FBI released numbers that showed violent crime in D.C. went up 7 percent in the first six months of 2010 compared with the same period last year. The city's statistics, however, show violent crime as being down 7 percent. Police Chief Cathy Lanier told
The Examiner that the FBI's report "is not a good measure of District crime" because D.C. police go by the city's code to determine the D.C. crime rate.
At-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, who heads the public safety committee, is concerned.
"The department doesn't benefit from a misunderstanding that comes from different reports," Mendelson said. Lanier "ought to do everything [she] can to explain the confusion."
Police union chief Kris Baumann said ongoing uncertainty regarding the city's crime statistics is an issue Mayor-elect Vince Gray will have to deal with since he has asked Lanier to stay on.
"This is the type of problem you face when you select a chief of police whose popularity is based on misrepresentations and misconceptions," Baumann said. "As mayor, Vince Gray will now have to embrace gimmicks and double-talk on crime in order to maintain her popularity."
Gray said he trusts that Lanier will get to the bottom of it.
"The chief is committed to transparency and I think she's doing a good job," Gray said. "I certainly expect her to [address those discrepancies]."
