Lexington crime trending up: Which offenses are growing most?

The number of crime incidents in Lexington saw an overall increase last week, for the second week in a row, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects reports from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents rose to 168 for the week of Sept. 2, up from 157 the week before.

The specific offenses that increased the most were vandalism and shootings. Vandalism rose to 28 incidents last week, from 17 the week before. Shootings went from zero to three. Reports of vandalism have continued to grow for the last two weeks.

There were 41 reported assault incidents last week. That represents a steady state from the previous week. There were also 10 incidents of burglary.

Among the few types of offenses that saw a downturn last week, reports of theft went from 57 to 51, and robbery incidents fell from four to three.

There were 32 reports of "other" crimes, an increase of four from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, seven involved arrests, such as for drug possession, down from eight reported arrests the week before.

Looking at crime patterns in different areas of the city, Duncan Park and Central Downtown continued to have the most reported incidents last week.

Duncan Park saw the largest increase; incidents in the neighborhood have been rising for two weeks in a row. Crime reports in Garden Springs also rose, after declining the week before.

Regarding when crime most often occurs, Saturday, Friday and Monday had the most crime incidents last week. The largest increase from the previous week occurred on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, while incidents on Wednesday and Sunday went down. Comparing times of day, late afternoon, after midnight and midday saw the most crime last week.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.