Crime also is on the decline statewide.
The crime rate is like the stock market, Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer and Undersheriff Dennis Bonneville say. Its behavior is tied to the economy, and you can' t pin too much hope on its fluctuations. But in 1999, crime in Kitsap County was a bear market. The latest figures from the Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs show overall crime dropped 6.9 percent in Kitsap County last year compared with 1998, with violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault dropping by more than 24 percent. Property crimes in the county also declined with the rate down by 5.1 percent.