When Jamie Darr woke up one morning last May, he discovered someone had driven a vehicle into his St. Paul garage door sometime during the evening to gain entry.

Nothing was stolen, but the damage from the burglary proved costly. And he ended up installing a security system.

Darr, who moved into his Payne-Phalen area home five years ago, thought the crime rate was getting better in his neighborhood, but now it seems like it’s worsening.

“We hear the gunshots and we hear the sirens and we hear it all,” he said.

On Monday, St. Paul police released preliminary statistics that show crime rose 10 percent compared with the year before — mostly driven by an increase in thefts.

The statistics cover eight categories tracked by the FBI. They do not include reports of shots-fired, for instance, which were up 28 percent last year from 2016.

“Anytime we have an increase in any crime category, it’s certainly not good news and we take it very seriously,” Police Chief Todd Axtell said Monday.

Compared with 2013, crime in St. Paul was down 1.6 percent last year, the statistics show.

There were 22 homicides in St. Paul last year, which was three more than 2016, and the most in more than a decade in the city.

Most of the crime increase last year was attributed to a 16 percent increase in theft and a 11 percent increase in auto theft, which the police department is working to address, Axtell said.

The majority of the thefts were of small items and are not the same as robberies, which involve force or threat of force. And a large number of the auto thefts happened when people left their vehicles running and unattended, according to police.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise that we’re up in those categories,” Axtell said. “We have a lot of great things going on in the city right now. We have historic levels of residents, we have historic levels of new entertainment venues throughout the city, which brings in visitors and guests to the city.”

There were 2,274 burglaries reported in St. Paul last year, four less than the year prior.

In Darr’s case, “they pretty much landed on my truck and boat in the garage, rummaged through my garage and tried to steal my roller-tool cabinet, but couldn’t get it out, which was nice,” he said.

The last time there were as many homicides in St. Paul was in 2005, when there were 26, according to police department statistics. Last year’s cases included a domestic violence-related triple homicide.

“Most of our homicides are gun related, which is why the reduction of gun violence continues to be our No. 1 priority within the department,” Axtell said. “Last year we added five officers and a sergeant to the gun-and-gang unit because we know gun violence has a direct connection with homicide rates.”

City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represents the West Seventh Street, West Side, Summit Hill, Railroad Island, Lowertown and downtown areas, said she tends to hear from people who have concerns about traffic violations, pedestrian safety and drivers not stopping at crosswalks.

“I do hear a lot from my constituents of their desire to see more police officers on the streets, walking the beat in their neighborhoods,” Noecker said. “We want to have relationships with them as neighbors and businesses. That makes them feel more secure, even if they don’t have a specific crime they’re concerned about or reporting.”

Police department statistics also show that officers are responding to more 911 calls — they were up 33 percent last year vs. 2013.

What could help in the future?

“We don’t know what’s going on in our neighborhoods unless people have confidence in the St. Paul police department, and confidence and trust is driven through community engagement,” Axtell said. ” … In a perfect world, if we had adequate staffing levels to do this, I would like to see our officers come out of the (department) academy and spend six months working in the community engagement unit. Investing that time would establish what is expected out of a 30-year career, heavily focusing on community outreach.”