Violent crime is on the rise in Scotland County even as other crime has declined, according to new state statistics.

Reports of violent crime rose 4 percent in Scotland County last year while the overall crime rate dropped 4.5 percent and property crime dropped 5.4 percent, according to the Annual Summary Report of 2009 Uniform Crime Reporting Data, a yearly publication of the State Bureau of Investigation.

Scotland County had 5,287.6 crimes reported per 100,000 people in 2009, with 562.3 violent crimes and 4,725.4 property crimes. In 2008, there were 5,536.7 crimes reported per 100,000 people, with 540.8 violent crimes and 4,995.8 property crimes.

Scotland ranked 14th in the state out of 92 counties that participated in the study.

"I'm excited to see that the crime rate has decreased," Sheriff Shep Jones said.

He credited aggressive work by his department and several programs his agency has put into place.

Scotland County residents "don't have a problem calling me," he said.

Jones said much of the violent crime happens at home.

"We know that a lot of times, when you look at violent crime, it's domestic related," he said. "We don't know what's going on inside every household."

Jones encourages residents to notify law enforcement when they see escalating domestic issues before someone gets seriously hurt.

He said the sheriff's office is working to reduce violent crime by targeting areas with higher crime rates, arresting drug dealers and recovering stolen guns.

Chief John Evans said the overall crime rate is dropping as people are "taking ownership of their communities" and contacting police when incidents occur.

"People are fed up with (crime) and they are taking a stand," he said.

He also said proactive policing has made a major dent in the crime rate.

The study looks at reported murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults for violent crimes and burglaries, larcenies and motor vehicle thefts for property crimes.

The data for Scotland County includes reports made to the sheriff's office and all municipal law agencies, including the Laurinburg Police Department. A breakdown of the data by crimes and jurisdictions will be released later this year.

Neighboring Robeson County led the state with 7,348.1 crimes reported per 100,000 residents in 2009, a tenth of a percentage point higher than 2008.

Robeson Sheriff Kenneth Sealey told the Robesonian an understaffed department is partly to blame for the crime rate.

"Our property crime is high because we need more deputies," Sealey said. "Our call volume has gone way up and deputies are running from call to call and aren’t able to be proactive. I have requested deputies for years and have not gotten them. When our school resource officers aren’t in school, I have put them out on patrol in different zones all over the county and crime goes down."

Robeson wasn't alone in their crime rate creeping up as other neighboring counties reported upticks in their rates. Richmond ranked fifth in the state with 6,082.1 crimes reported per 100,000 people in 2009, a 4.2 percent increase over 2008. Hoke County saw a 7.8 percent increase in crime with the new rate of 3,022.6.

Moore was the only adjoining county to see crime decline, with an 8.3 percent drop to 2,743.3. They ranked 64th out of 92 counties.

Reports of crime across the state fell by 8.8 percent in 2009 while violent crime dropped by 12.5 percent, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Wednesday. It’s the sharpest single year drop in crime rates since North Carolina began statewide crime reporting in 1973 and the lowest crime rate since 1984 for North Carolina.

The overall rate of index crime per 100,000 persons in North Carolina decreased by 8.8 percent compared to 2008. The rate of violent crime per 100,000 North Carolinians dropped 12.5 percent according to reports submitted to the State Bureau of Investigation from law enforcement agencies across the state. Rates remained unchanged in one violent crime category — rape — while rates for three other violent crime categories fell, with murders down 19.1 percent, robberies down 17.6 percent, and aggravated assaults down 10.7 percent.

The rate of property crimes decreased by 8.4 percent statewide. Reports of motor vehicle theft fell 25.8 percent, while reports of larceny dropped 8.5 percent and reports of burglary fell 3.9 percent. Juvenile arrests for index crime offenses fell 10 percent, while adult arrests for those offenses were down 4 percent. Juvenile arrests for all crimes dropped 11 percent, while adult arrest for all crimes fell 3 percent.

"A lower crime rate is good for North Carolina’s economic development, our safety and our quality of life," Cooper said. "But no amount of crime is acceptable and we must continue our focus on better technology, tougher laws and better prevention."

Not all crimes are counted in the annual figures, however.

"There are also crimes that these numbers don’t reflect, such as some computer crimes and crimes connected with prescription drug abuse," Cooper said "Law enforcement is constantly confronted with new crime trends and that’s why we must make sure that officers have access to the best in crime fighting technology."