METAIRE, La. — The overall crime rate in unincorporated Jefferson Parish dropped by 20 percent during the first six months of 2006 - but burglaries and assaults were up and the murder rate jumped by 70 percent.

The report, released Friday, doesn't cover the cities of Gretna, Westwego, Harahan and Kenner or the towns of Grand Isle and Jean Lafitte.

Crime was down in four of the seven major categories that must be reported to the FBI, including rape, robbery, theft and auto theft. But murder, assaults and burglary are on the rise, according to the figures. There were 27 homicides by the end of June 2006, up from 16 in June 2005. Burglaries were up by 20 percent, assaults by 28 percent.

But the rise in the murder rate has caught the attention of the department as well as community leaders. As of Friday afternoon, there had been 33 murders in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, nine on the east bank and 24 on West Bank.

Sheriff Harry Lee has said he has nothing directly tying the surge in homicides to a migration of displaced New Orleanians post-Katrina. While there's no concrete proof, it's one of two theories floating around about the homicide trends. University of New Orleans criminologist Peter Scharf says the other hypothesis is the drug markets have shifted to areas with greater population since the hurricane.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV 08-12-06 1237CDT