OCEAN CITY, Md. — An annual report put together by the Ocean City Police department shows crime increased in nearly every category during 2020, despite the pandemic.
The number of rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries and thefts all rose significantly.
There were 18 reported rapes, which is a staggering 200 percent increase than in 2019.
The 30 robberies in 2020 were 67 percent higher than the previous year, while aggravated assaults were up 76 percent.
Simple and aggravated assaults were at their highest numbers in at least six-years.
One area which saw no change was murder. Since 2015 there have been two, and none since 2018.
The rise in 2020 crime comes despite Ocean City Police making 2,272 total arrests, which is more than any year since at least before 2015.
Of those, 54 were for weapons and 474 for drugs. Although the number of weapon arrests were up from the past two years, drug arrests were at their lowest in six.
Officers had to deploy their taser slightly less than in 2019, but more than any other of the three years before then.
That number comes as officers were reportedly assaulted 165 times last year, up 55 from 2019 and a five-year high.
While 2020 saw the most pedestrian collisions, bicycle and total traffic collisions were at a five-year low.
Read the entire report below.
