By Dan Murphy
Area A-1, which includes Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown and downtown, has experienced a 24-percent reduction in violent and property crimes to date in 2011, compared with last year, police said.
Between Jan. 1 and April 4, 569 incidents of Part One crime were reported as opposed to 745 in the same timeframe in 2010.
While one homicide was reported in 2011 as opposed to none last year, the number of rapes and attempted rapes dropped to two from six last year.
Aggravated assaults were down 30 percent as the number of incidents dropped to 54 from 77 in 2010.
Burglaries and attempted burglaries saw a 27-perecent reduction, with 43 incidents in 2011 as opposed to 59 last year.
Larcenies and attempted larcenies experienced a 25-percent decrease as the number of incidents dropped to 408 from 544 in 2010.
Robberies and attempted robberies were down slightly as the number of incidents dropped to 34 from 35 last year.
Vehicle theft and attempted vehicle theft, meanwhile, saw a slight spike, with 27 in 2011 as opposed to 24 last year.
Citywide, Part One crime was down 21 percent as the number of incidents dropped to 4,874 from 6,172 last year.