In 2017, Austin's property crime rate dropped to a 20-year-low. Although the number of murders has dropped from 39 in 2016 to 25 in 2017, the overall rate of violent crime is slightly higher.

Michael Sanders, vocalist and lead guitarist for the band Löwin, had just left a show at Hotel Vegas one night in March 2017, when three armed men hiding in the shadows approached him in the 1100 block of Leona Street in East Austin and stole his money, cellphone and credit cards.

The musician then tried to walk home, but it happened to be in the same direction the thieves were walking. One of the men turned back and opened fire, striking him in the arm.

Sanders — one of nearly a thousand people who were robbed in Austin in 2017, according to statistics released by Austin police this week — said getting robbed and shot has now forced him to always be looking over his shoulder.

“You’re always kind of skeptical about who’s around,” he said. It’s not that the area he lives is riddled with crime, but a lot of people drink too much in the area, and that makes him nervous.

But the good news emerging from the new data — which federal authorities use to track murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and auto theft nationwide — show that in 2017, Austin's property crime rate dropped to a 20-year-low.

The rate of burglaries per 100,000 residents fell by 18 percent. Thefts dropped by 8 percent, and auto thefts dropped by 3 percent.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said a big part of the property crime reduction can be attributed to the Police Department’s property crime task force that was formed in 2016. But 2017 was the first year it was fully staffed and fully operational, he said.

The task force teams up with investigators to provide surveillance or street-level intelligence, or to follow up on serial crimes or prolific offenders. It focuses heavily on residential burglaries and auto thefts.

Having a task force dedicated to those crimes allows police to identify suspects much more quickly than in the past, Manley said.

“Whether through earlier fingerprint ID or through the work our crime analysts do in connecting these types of crimes, when we make an earlier ID, we are able to more quickly arrest serial offenders,” Manley said.

Manley said that, while he’s pleased with the dropping rate, property crimes are a constant challenge.

“We regularly say 'see something, say something,'” Manley said, adding that the call to action is usually meant to stop terrorism or mass shootings. “It’s just as important to let us know when something is out of place in your neighborhood. That might be the tip we need to ID these types of crimes.”

Unlike property crimes, violent crime in Austin, at least in part, is on the rise. Although the numbers of murders dropped from 39 in 2016 to 25 in 2017, the overall rate of violent crime is slightly higher, from 408 crimes per 100,000 residents to 415.

The number of reported robberies fell from 1,048 to 987, but the rate of aggravated assaults climbed 4 percent, from 216 per 100,000 residents to 225. Reported rapes per 100,000 residents rose by 10 percent, from 78 to 86.

In August and September of 2017, the city was plagued by a series of sexual assaults on popular hike-and-bike trails that left users feeling vulnerable and uneasy.

The first attack happened Aug. 22 at the Austin High School track. The second incident happened Sept. 15 on the Butler Hike and Bike Trail near East Avenue and Cummings Street. The third was on Sept. 27 near the 1700 block of Lakeshore Boulevard.

The three incidents were among 834 rape cases in 2017

“We still talk about them,” said Vania Lanas, a runner who uses those trails. “Even on Saturday, I ran with a friend in the rain, and we ran from (Interstate) 35 past where one of the attacks happened.”

Lanas said they decided not to stop at a bathroom there because they couldn’t be sure whether someone was inside. She said they instead waited until they could find a safer option.

Sanders said his "level of anxiety and temper have certainly gotten worse" since he was robbed and shot.

“In terms of recovery, I’ve just been stupidly lucky,” Sanders said. “It could have been much worse. I still have problems with my shoulder to some degree. ... But it definitely could have been worse.”

Manley said Austin police are drawing upon lessons learned from the success of their property crimes task force as they wrestle with violent crime.

In July, the department rolled out a violent crimes task force that, like its property crimes counterpart, focuses on repeat offenders and known trouble spots to bring violent crime down.

Manley said the violent crime rate for this year through August was down by 3.8 percent.

Even as crime came close to home from Sanders and Lanas, both said they still feel safe in the city.

“I do, I do absolutely,” Lanas said. “Much safer than I did last year, and as long as I see those cops on the trail I’ll feel safe.”

Sanders said it might be his upbringing in Detroit or his life in Chicago before he moved to Austin that makes him feel like Austin is still a safe, quiet place.

“I do (feel safe),” he said, even though his case remains open. “Honestly, I don’t know why I do, because after my situation I probably shouldn’t.”