CLAYTON -- Fewer serious crimes were reported in Clayton last year, though violent crime was up, according to the police department's annual report released Wednesday.
The number of violent crimes - rape, robbery and assault - rose to 39, up from 34 in 2008.
But property crimes, including burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft, dropped more than 20 percent, to 339.
Police say the property crime numbers had been inflated in recent years by a string of thefts from cars and thefts of recyclable metals, both of which declined last year. Violent and property crimes declined by 17.8 percent.
For the second year in a row, Clayton did not have a homicide.
Police handled 527 traffic accidents, resulting in 102 injuries and three deaths.
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