Violent crime on the rise in Stamford

STAMFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Violent crimes, which include murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assault, are on the rise in Stamford. According to the FBI's preliminary uniform crime report, these violent crimes went up by 10 percent last year.

"It doesn't surprise me," said Jeffrey Blance, of Stamford. "I don't know what the incremental increases are, but it doesn't surprise me because times have gotten really tough."

According to the report, in 2010 there were 351 violent crimes committed in the city. In 2011 that number climbed to 389.

"I'm surprised," said David Sussan, of Stamford. "I would have thought it's been constant for a long time and I would have thought it would stay constant. I'm shocked that it's gone up."

Stamford police say when you hear about a 10 percent increase in crime it's shocking and they say it's concerning to them, but they say when you take a closer look the numbers show Stamford is a safe city.

Take for example, the murder rate, which increased from 2 to 6 in 2011. That's a 200 percent increase, but they say that's still a very low number for a city its size.

"The 200 increase appears to be very dramatic," said Asst. Chief Jim Matheny, Stamford PD, "but when you compare us to cities anywhere near our side it's still a lower number."

Sexual assaults were also up, but police say a statistic doesn't always tell the story.

"I'm unhappy the number is higher, but at the same time I'm happy we're getting people who never would have come forward before to come forward and tell us they've been victimized," said Chief Matheny. "So you look at statistics as a hard number, but then you got to look a bit deeper and see what the real meaning is."

The FBI says the overall number of crimes committed in the city were up 2 percent last year.