BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Crimes throughout Kern County seemed to be on the rise last month, according to statistics from the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
According to statistics comparing crimes from March 2020 to March 2019, KCSO saw a rise in crimes such as homicide, rape, and robbery among others.
The following is a breakdown of crime comparisons for March 2019 to March 2020:
- Homicide: KCSO counted one homicide in March 2019 and three in March 2020, a 200% increase.
- Rape: KCSO counted eight rapes in March 2019 and nine in March 2020, a 13% increase.
- Robbery: KCSO counted 30 robberies in March 2019 and 52 robberies in March 2020, a 73% increase.
- Assault: KCSO counted 310 assaults in March 2019 and 441 assaults in March 2020, a 34% increase.
- Burglary: KCSO counted 208 assaults in March 2019 and 263 assaults in March 2020, a 26% increase.
- Auto Theft: KCSO counted 139 auto thefts in March 2019 and 257 auto thefts in March 2020, an 85% increase.
Two crimes did not see an increase in 2020, according to KCSO's statistics. KCSO said it counted 402 larcenies in March 2019 and 370 in March 2020, an 8% decrease. KCSO also said it investigated one arson in both March 2019 and March 2020.
KCSO also compared March 2020 to February 2020. According to KCSO, it saw some crimes increase between the two months, but not as drastic an increase as the list above.
The following is a breakdown of crime comparisons from February 2020 to March 2020:
- Homicide: KCSO counted one homicide in February 2020 and three in March 2020, a 200% increase.
- Rape: KCSO counted nine rapes in February 2020 and nine in March 2020, no increase.
- Assault: KCSO counted 374 assaults in February 2020 and 441 assaults in March 2020, an 11% increase.
- Burglary: KCSO counted 206 assaults in February 2020 and 263 assaults in March 2020, a 28% increase.
- Auto Theft: KCSO counted 192 auto thefts in February 2020 and 257 assaults in March 2020, a 34% increase.
- Arson: KCSO counted no cases of arson in February 2020 and 1 case in March 2020. KCSO counted this as null in its statistics.
As far as rape, between February and March 2020 there was no change. It also counted robberies from February 2020 at 60 to 52 in March 2020, a 13% decrease. Larcenies went from 379 in February 2020 to 370 in March 2020, a 2% decrease.
