Rate Had Declined Three Consecutive Years : Serious Crime Up 3% in First Half of ’85

After decreasing for three consecutive years, the rate of serious crime reported to police in the United States rose 3% in the first half of 1985, the FBI said Saturday.

It was the third quarter in a row that reported violations have increased.

In the final three months of 1984 and in the first quarter of this year, reported crime increased 2%, but in the second quarter of 1985, the rate was 5% above the similar April-June period in 1984, according to the FBI.

After earlier decreases in the crime rate were reported, Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III and FBI Director William H. Webster cited as explanations such factors as stiffer sentences for violators and community anti-crime efforts, but in the latest report they gave no reasons for the upturn.

‘Too Early’ to See Trend

William Baker, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, said it is “too early to determine” whether the increase signals a continued rise in crime or “whether it will taper off as it did before.”

Webster traced the increase in the national crime rate to 6% upturns in the Western and Southern regions of the country. “The Midwest recorded a 1% decline, and there was virtually no change in the crime index volume for the Northeast,” he said.

Most California cities included in the report recorded higher crime. The rate for Los Angeles was up less than 0.3%, but in Long Beach it increased 6%, and it was up 5% in San Diego, 4% in Pasadena and 9% in Santa Ana, the FBI figures showed.

Nationally, violent crime increased 4% during the six months ending June 30, 1985, while property crime was up 3%.

Among violent offenses, only murder dropped during the first half--by 2% from the level a year earlier. Forcible rape and aggravated assault were up 7%, while robbery was unchanged, the FBI said.

All property offenses increased in number. Motor vehicle theft was up 5%; larceny-theft, 4%; arson, 3%, and burglary, 1%.

In a population breakdown, only cities with more than 1 million inhabitants showed any decline in the overall crime rate--a 2% drop. The other city groupings showed increases ranging from 2% to 7%. Law enforcement agencies in suburban counties showed a 4% increase, while those in rural counties posted a 1% rise.