In August and September, the average jumped 66 percent - to 183 a week. Figures for the first nine months of 1998 show sharp increases in crime in some parts of the city. The biggest was in South Philadelphia's Fourth District, which reported 2,660 major crimes from January through September - 35 percent more than during the same period last year. In the Fifth District in Roxborough, reported crime rose 22 percent. Theft was the category of crime showing the largest increase.
Theft is defined as stealing something without using a weapon or breaking in.
It does not include car thefts, which are a separate category. The Fourth District showed a 96 percent increase in thefts during the first nine months of the year, while thefts in the Fifth District were up 113 percent. In the 16th District, theft was up 80 percent. The neighboring 18th district reported a 63 percent leap. David Marnin, a lieutenant in the Eighth District in Northeast Philadelphia, where thefts were up 38 percent, said the increase partly reflects a more stringent standard for reporting such incidents as thefts of license plates.