Murder, forcible rape and aggravated assault -- major crimes that have a large affect on a community -- increased by only 1.5 percent last year, the Burien City Council was told April 10.

Even with a slight increase in crime locally, this is a “remarkable accomplishment,” Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer noted during his presentation of the 2005 police report.

This, Kimerer said, is because crime rates in surrounding locales went up considerably at the same time.

The crime rate in SeaTac went up almost 26 percent in 2005, and nearly 14 percent in the North Highline unincorporated area.

“We have been able to keep a lid on those serious crimes in the city of Burien,” Kimerer declared.

In 2003, part one crimes -- murder, kidnapping, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft -- decreased dramatically in Burien.

Since then, they have only gone up 3 percent.

“Whatever my officers are doing, whatever [the police department] is doing as a team, I think is paying off in the safety of the citizens here,” Kimerer said.

Whether or not crimes have been transitory or have been “pushed” into nearby cities remains unclear, he added.

Residential and commercial burglaries also decreased last year and, Kimerer observed, Burien was the city locally to experience drops in those crimes.

The city had a 23 percent spike in thefts under $250, representing shoplifting and minor thefts, in 2004. In 2005, thefts went down 21 percent, so the city was able to “catch up ground,” he said.

Kimerer said he was glad to report a decrease in juvenile charges and arrests for the third consecutive year.

“Burien is using alternative programs, whether it’s park programs or after school programs. There’s something else that’s working here that is keeping our juveniles from committing crimes and [allowing them to be] more productive,” he continued.

Other findings of the 2005 police report noted by Kimerer included:

A 51 percent increase in auto thefts in Burien -- a trend widespread throughout south King County and Washington, which is on of the “highest auto theft capitals in the United States.”

In the prior two years, auto theft rates went down 26 percent, with Burien one of the few areas to see a decrease.

Other crime rates that went up were arson, from 17 cases in 2004 to 26 last year, and part two offenses such as vandalism and trespassing, which increased by 5 percent.

While not dramatic increases, Kimerer said these types of offenses affect the community and the police department plans to address those crimes.

The police department will also focus on gang activity, which has steadily increased the last three years including by 14 percent in 2005.

Kimerer said in response to many resident concerns about crime in the downtown business community, “I did some research on the level of crime that occurs in our downtown core....

“I was actually a little surprised because the business core seems to have had a pretty steady level of activity, a lot of vandalism and fraud.”

Calling this finding “an awakening, " he added, “Once you get that pie in the face you realize that things have not decreased in an area as much as you want them to and you need to come up with strategies and look at that area of Burien.”

Strategies implemented by Burien police include more bike patrols in business areas, as well as policing certain areas before and after school to prevent minor vandalisms and disruption as children pass to and from school.

Kimerer said the department is also working to promote safety by implementing a system of two-way communication, such as e-mail, with businesses to keep each other informed, and designing newsletters to let people know about crime-prevention measures.

One proven strategy the department will continue to use is the false alarm ordinance, implemented in 2004, which makes alarm companies responsibility to verify that a crime has been committed before the police will respond.

False alarms in the city have been reduced from 1,400 calls in 2003 to 111 in 2005 as a result of the ordinance, Kimerer said.

Another successful strategy the department hopes to continue is cross dispatching when surrounding areas help provide service.

Police officers in these, who operate on the same radio frequency, handled close to 20 percent of the total activity in Burien.

“That is a tremendous benefit to the city,” he noted. “As we talk more about annexation in the future [this] is something that needs to be factored in as far as how [the department] is looking at our staffing.”