Forcible rape in Madison increased by 52 percent in 2004, with a trend toward incidents occurring in the central area of the city, according to a report released by the Madison Police Department Thursday.

Although the statistics for forcible rape have increased, this category of crime data tends to have the greatest variation each year, the report said.

MPD Lieutenant Joe Balles said the department is most concerned about forcible rape, especially since most of the sexual assaults were committed in the downtown area, though statistics from previous years need to be kept in mind.

“There is a lot of variation from year to year so we don’t want to get heightened concern,” Balles said.

More than 200 sexual assaults and rapes were committed citywide last year, 74 of which occurred in the downtown area.

Attempted and committed forcible rapes reported to the police department have followed an up and down trend in the past four years, jumping from 65 reports in 2001 to 88 incidents the following year, while dropping back to 65 reports in 2003.

Of the 97 incidents reported in 2004, Balles said approximately 76 percent of the victims had a previous relationship with the offender.

The Central District of the MPD, including the downtown area, leads the city with over 270 instances of violent crimes, such as homicides, aggravated assault and battery while the west side leads in property crimes, including burglaries, thefts and stolen vehicles, according to the report. More than 2,300 incidents were accounted for last year.

As a participant of the Wisconsin Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Balles said the crime and arrest data allows the MPD to see where resources have been focused over the year and trends that are occurring in the city.

“Basically, it gives us a chance to look to see what’s happening right now in the community,” Balles said.

The report is composed before the FBI releases nationwide crime statistics, allowing the MPD and community to analyze the information, which will eventually be added to the department’s annual report due out later this year.