A new year means a new chance to see whether crime is up or down. Here’s how precincts in and around Downtown fared for the just-ended calendar year.

Homicide detectives in Carroll Gardens’ and Cobble Hill’s 76th Precinct were happily bored, thanks to zero murders in 2006, down from four the year before.

But rapes were up dramatically, from three in 2005 to eight last year:

All other violent crime categories saw decreases, for a total drop in violent crime of 16 percent last year.

• Robberies dropped from 149 in 2005, to 133 last year.

• Assaults dropped from 98 two years ago to 85.

• Burglaries dropped from 160 in 2005 to 117 last year.

• Grand larceny fell more than 10 percent, to 217 last year.

• And 94 cars were stolen in 2006, versus 119 the year before.

Overall, crime has dropped by more than 10 percent in the 76th Precinct in the past six years, and by more than 63 percent since 1993. All seven crime categories have declined in the past 13 years; all but larceny have fallen by double-digits. Rape reports have nearly been cut in half since 1993, and declined 80 percent since 1990.

In the 84th Precinct, which covers Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, there were two murders in 2006, spoiling a perfect zero from 2005. But like Roger Maris’s home run record, this statistic comes with an asterik: One of the homicide victims was a man who succumbed to gunshot wounds he suffered in 1992, police said.

Overall, violent crime in the precinct dropped 3.5 percent from the year before:

• Rape reports dropped from 10 in 2005 to six last year.

• Robberies fell 12 percent, to 209 in 2006.

• Burglary declined 4.5 percent, to 148 reports last year.

• And car thefts dropped by one-third, to 69.

Besides murder, there were some minor increases:

• Assaults rose from 136 to 141.

• And larceny rose from 633 to 655.

Overall, crime continues to fall in the precinct at a faster rate than elsewhere in the Brooklyn North patrol. Individually, each crime category has dropped by double-digits over the past five years and between 42 percent (larceny) and 90 percent (car thefts) since 1993.

Together, violent crime in the 84th Precinct has fallen nearly 27 percent since 2001, more than 72 percent since 1993, and by 80.5 percent since 1990. Figures for Brooklyn North show a decline of more than 19 percent in violent crime reports in the past five years, a drop greater than two-thirds since 1993, and a drop of more than 73 percent since 1990.

In Fort Greene’s 88th Precinct, murder skyrocketed from a single killing in 2005 to 11 last year. The number mirrors the bloody year 2001 and tipped the Fort Greene precinct toward the double-digit murder rates of the last decade. Even with last year’s increase, murder has declined 56 percent since 1993 and nearly 95 percent since 1990.

Overall, violent crime in the 88th precinct has dropped 8.3 percent over the last year. The highlights:

• Car thefts dropped by 25 percent, to 121.

• Robberies fell nearly 17 percent, to 264.

At the same time, there was a 5.3-percent hike in larceny reports.

Despite the reversal in murder trends, crime in the 88th Precinct continues to decline — at a faster rate than Brooklyn North in general. Reports of violent crime fell nearly 22 percent since 2001 in the Fort Greene area, close to 71 percent since 1993, and 73.5 percent since 1990.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper