Area Crime Declines in Latest Data

Crime rates are down locally, according to the latest projections from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The Walnut/Diamond Bar station — which covers Diamond Bar, Walnut, and unincorporated Rowland Heights — has seen a 40 percent decrease in the crime rate compared with five years ago and a 13 percent decrease compared with one year ago, according to preliminary data.

The crime rate is calculated as the number of reported incidents per 10,000 residents.

By this time in 2010, there had been 149 more reports of Part I crimes — including violent and property crimes — than initial reports for the first half of 2011.

In 2011, two homicides were reported in the Walnut station's coverage area, both in Diamond Bar.

One incident involved and the second was in connection with an Ontario murder investigation that .

The number of reported rapes has seen a steady decrease from five years ago and also declined from this time last year. There have been four incidents reported this year — three in Diamond Bar and one in Walnut — compared with six in the station's coverage area last year.

Robbery reports saw a significant decrease for the station, with 29 reported so far in 2011. By comparison, 2010 had a total of 43 reported robberies. Most of the 2011 robberies — 18 — were reported in Rowland Heights. Diamond Bar had seven robberies and Walnut had four.

Burglary has also seen a decrease from one year and five years ago. A total of 245 incidents were reported so far this year at the Walnut station compared with 329 last year and 414 five years ago.

Most of those burglaries were reported in Diamond Bar, with 119 reports, and Rowland Heights, with 91 reports.

Arson reports are up significantly over last year for the station area — from 1 report to 6 in 2011 — but this year's reports are still half of the reported 12 incidents at this time five years ago.

Read the full published data for all of the latest crime statistics throughout L.A. County.