MONROE -- While larceny rose between 2008 and 2009, robberies decreased, according to data from the Monroe Police Department.

Overall crime increased by 3.8 percent between the Novembers of those years, which Chief Debra Duncan attributed to the 13.6 percent jump in larcenies.

According to national statistics from Uniform Crime Reports, burglary increased by 2.0 percent and larceny increased by 0.3 percent between 2007 and 2008, which is the most recent available data.

“When the economy is good, crime is usually down,” she said. “Shoplifting has increased which can be attributed to the economy but other reasons too.”

Duncan added that the numbers might not mean there’s more people committing larceny but rather, more arrests being made.

“The stores might be more vigilant in that they are catching more people,” she said, adding that the creation of the violent crimes task force might also mean that officers are arresting more people.

The department doesn’t put officers in stores but does have officers park their cars and walk through the stores in order to maintain higher visibility, Duncan said.

Police especially step up patrols at stores during the holiday season, when larcenies and armed robberies typically increase because people are out spending money and carrying purchases to their cars.

But despite national trends, Monroe did not see a significant increase in larcenies and robberies during the holiday season of 2009.

“We’ve had a ton of people come through and you would think in the holiday season and a recession it would tend to go on the negative side but it’s been real quiet over here as far as disruptions,” said Sarah Enten, Monroe Crossing Mall’s spokeswoman.

Enten said the mall usually increases security by one or two guards during the holidays not only for crime prevention but also crowd control during their additional events.

Murder and rape also increased between 2008 and 2009 according to police data, but Duncan questioned the notion that police can predict and prevent every murder.

“Usually people murder people they know. There’s very few random murders that happen in Monroe,” she said. “But obviously, one murder or rape is one too many.”