WATERLOO - Led by drops in theft and burglary, crime in rural Black Hawk County was down in 2007, according to statistics released by the sheriff's office.

Deputies said a shift in focus from drug investigations to property crime was part of the reason behind the numbers.

Toward the end of 2007, burglaries began to rise. But, as officers responded, break-ins didn't surpass the level from a year prior.

"We had enjoyed a really strong year, and then the last three months with all of the burglaries, we were concerned. So when we saw the numbers and saw we were lower, we were pleasantly surprised," said Deputy Tony Thompson, a spokesman for the sheriff's office.

"Our investigative division has done a great job and actually put some faces and names and arrests to a lot of those burglaries," Thompson said.

Overall index crimes - which include murder, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, rape, larceny and vehicle theft - fell from 281 in 2006 to 262 last year.

This puts the county about even with its crime level in 2005.

The numbers include crimes in rural Black Hawk County as well as the communities of Hudson, Gilbertville, Dunkerton and La Porte City.

Reported larcenies went from 151 in 2006 to 129 last year, and burglaries dropped from 94 to 87. Vehicle thefts had accounted for 10 index crimes in 2006, but none were reported in 2007.

On the flip side, drug violations worked by deputies fell from 232 to 125, according to the sheriff's office's numbers.

In 2006 "there was an earnest focus in the patrol division on narcotics interdiction. This year that focus changed to burglaries, thefts and other offenses," Thompson said.

Crimes against people were up.

Aggravated assault more than doubled, from 13 in 2006 to 32 in 2007, while rapes increased by two to 14.

"That's a curious spike that I can't attribute to any one thing. … I hope that it's one of those anomalies in the circular ebb and flow of our annual statistics, and next year we will be back down," Thompson said.

Domestic and simple assaults were down, according to the figures.

There were no murders in the county in 2006 or 2007.

The Black Hawk County Jail, which is the largest of the sheriff's office's responsibilities, saw about 500 more bookings in 2007 to reach 8,533. But at the same time, that jail's average daily population - the number of people behind bars at any given time - actually fell.

Thompson said this is likely the result of the state judicial branch lowering the bail bond schedule for minor offenses in August and because of ongoing efforts to track inmates' progress through the court system.

Other statistics show:

- Calls for service were down from 12,784 to 9,405.

- Only two people died in rural traffic accidents in 2007 compared with three the year before.

- Deputies arrested more people for operating while intoxicated - 165 in 2007, up from 133 in 2006.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.