Violent crime and gang-related crime both increased in the San Fernando Valley in 2014, compared to the previous year.

Violent crime rose 11.3 percent and gang crime grew 8 percent in 2014 in the Valley, said LAPD Commander Jon Peters, assistant commanding officer for Valley Bureau Operations.

All seven Valley police divisions reported a rise in violent crime, largely attributable to an increase in aggravated assaults, officials said.

“We don’t like the fact that we have an uptick, and we are addressing it,” Peters said. “But we have to say, the San Fernando Valley is still a safe place to live and work.”

The rise in violent crime comes after 11 years of citywide declining rates of such crimes. The new data, which covers the period ending Dec. 27, also mirrors a citywide trend: Los Angeles saw a 12.3 percent increase in violent crimes compared to 2013, LAPD statistics show. There were 18,684 violent crimes last year, compared to 16,633 in 2013.

But it’s unclear if the 2014 crime numbers reflect a more dangerous city or improved LAPD crime classifications.

The Los Angeles Times reported this summer that the Police Department understated the city’s true crime rate by misclassifying more than 1,000 serious crimes as low-level offenses. Chief Charlie Beck said “better record-keeping” was one reason for 2014’s rise in aggravated assaults, the paper reported last week.

Peters said increased reports of domestic abuse is a factor behind the rise in aggravated assaults. The department runs an ongoing campaign dedicated to raising awareness about domestic abuse.

Peters said he couldn’t pinpoint the reason for the rise in Valley gang-related crime but said he was not concerned about the spike. While gang violence is up year over year, last year’s numbers were down 3 percent compared to 2012, Peters said.

The Valley saw 827 incidents of gang violence in 2014, compared to 764 in 2013, he said. “The rise is very small,” Peters said.

Property crime was down 9.7 percent in the Valley in 2014 compared to a year earlier, he said.

In the LAPD’s Foothill division, which includes the neighborhoods of La Tuna Canyon, Lake View Terrace, Pacoima, Shadow Hills, Sun Valley, Sunland and Tujunga, property crimes declined 16.2 percent, data shows.

The biggest spike in violent crime in the Valley comes from a rise in aggravated assaults, defined as assaults resulting in serious injury.

Those assaults — along with homicides, rapes and robbery — are considered violent crimes. The Valley saw 3,967 violent crimes last year, compared to 3,565 violent crimes in 2013.

In the Van Nuys LAPD division — which includes the neighborhoods of Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks and Valley Glen — aggravated assaults rose 56 percent last year compared to 2013. A total of 312 aggravated assaults were reported, compared to 200 in 2013.

In the Topanga LAPD division — which covers Canoga Park, West Hills, Winnetka and Woodland Hills, the number of aggravated assaults rose 32.3 percent.

The LAPD is scheduled to discuss the official 2014 crime statistics at a news conference later this month.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti spokeswoman Molly Fowler said in a statement that “While we are pleased that overall crime is down for the 12th year in a row, we are concerned about the violent crime numbers and are in the process of evaluating them with the LAPD.”