Crime in Fairfax County dropped across the board last year in every category except one — robbery — according to statistics from the Fairfax County Police Department.

There were 1,244 fewer crimes in 2011 than in 2010, according to data released to Patch this week.

"It is a nationwide trend," said Lucy Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police Department. "We hope one factor is that each district station takes a close look at trends in their area and they keep a close look."

Caldwell said residents reporting crimes quickly and sending in tips is another factor in the lower crime rate.

"We can't do it without the public's help," she said.

The only crime category that increased last year? Robberies. There were 29 more robberies last year than the previous year, going from 394 in 2010 to 423 in 2011.

The crime category that saw the largest drop was larceny (personal theft), dropping from 14,345 in 2010 to 13,409 or 936 fewer.

There were five fewer murders last year — 11 — than the 16 in 2010 and just half the rate of the 22 in 2008.

In all there were 16,209 crimes last year, compared to 17,453 in 2010.

One of the biggest crime streaks to make news in 2010 was a suspected serial burglar, Brad Edmonds, whom Fairfax officers linked to more than 100 burglaries across Fairfax County.

It's not clear how that impacted 2010 reporting, nor, the drop in 2011.