Sheriff’s Department officials released preliminary crime statistics for 2014, showing a 6.2-percent decline in reported Part-1 crimes in the Santa Clarita Valley.

In several areas, the crime rates increased for the unincorporated areas, but decreased within Santa Clarita city limits.

The overall number of violent crimes — criminal homicide, forcible rapes, robberies and assaults — rose from 389 reports handled by deputies to 411 reports last year, a 4.6 percent increase.

While overall, property crimes — including burglary, theft and arson reports — declined from 3,656 incidents in 2013 to 3,418 in 2014, a 7.4 percent decrease.

Los Angeles County officials increased the allocation of deputies in the unincorporated areas late last year, officials said Wednesday, which was expected to help address the increase.

Burglaries saw the sharpest rise in reported crimes for the incorporated areas, with 188 cases reported in 2014, up from 156 cases reported in 2013. Within city limits, Santa Clarita deputies responded to 661 burglaries in 2014, down from 779 reported burglaries in 2013.

Click here for a complete look at the Preliminary Data on Part I crimes.

The total number of reported burglaries handled by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies was down in a year-to-year comparison, from 726 to 670.

There were five fewer stolen cars in 2014 compared to 2013, with 257 in 2013 and 252 last year — within city limits. In the unincorporated areas, that figure was down to 58 from 61.

The unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley saw a rash of arson reports increase the number of reported incidents from 3 in 2013 to 12 last year. In Santa Clarita, that number decreased from 16 to 10.

Santa Clarita had one fewer robbery in city limits in 2014 versus 2013, with 101 reported in 2013 and 100 reported in 2014. In the unincorporated areas, that figure remained the same — there were 17 reported each year.

Santa Clarita saw 5 fewer sexual assaults in 2014 compared to the previous year, when 22 rapes were reported. In the unincorporated areas of L.A. County there was one fewer.

The number of aggravated assaults increased from 174 to 216 from 2013 to 2014 within city limits. In the county areas (unincorporated parts of the Santa Clarita Valley), those numbers decreased from 65 to 51.

The number of larceny thefts decreased by about 200 incidents within city limits. In the city, there were 1,824 petty thefts reported in 2013, a number that declined to 1,622 in 2014. The number rose in the unincorporated areas to a total of 610 incidents reported in 2014, compared to 565 in 2013.

The five criminal homicides investigated last year that Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies responded to were: the stabbing death of Jose Ocampo; the shooting death of Ricardo Lopez, whose remains were found off Ridge Route Road in Gorman; the shooting death of James Gillis, who was found slain in his Castaic home; and a father who drove a car with his children, Eric Dean Edwards Alona Marie Edwards, into the back of a big rig truck, killing all three instantly.