The Maryland State Police just released crime statistics for the state for the first six months of this year. The agency broke out carjackings, noting a 5 percent increase this year compared with last.

Prince George's County leads the way in this category, with 194 reported this year, up from 189 in the first half of last year. In Baltimore, there were 135 carjacking reported from January through June, up one from 2007. Baltimore County had 33, compared with 27 last year; Anne Arundel went from 19 to 20 and Howard stayed even with five in each year. Harford County went from two to one this year and Carroll County reported no carjacking this year or last.

Homicides in the state are down 15 percent comparing the first half of this year with the first half of last year (285 to 243), rapes are down 3 percent and robberies are down 1 percent. Car thefts are down 10 percent across the state, from 14,203 reported in the first half of 2007 to 12,770 reported through June of this year.

Homicides doubled on the Eastern Shore, from 10 to 20 this year, but went down from six to five in Western Maryland. The biggest drop in murder came from Baltimore City and the surrounding counties -- 189 reported through June of last year compared with 134 in the first half of this year.

Baltimore City police also released some new crime data this week (homicides are now at 186), down about 27 percent from last year. Shootings are also down 11 percent and robberies are down in the city 9 percent.

Baltimore police added a new category to its list: gun crimes. Through Nov. 1 of this year, 207 people have been killed by a gun, 569 people have been shot and wounded and 1,764 people have been robbed at gunpoint. Despite the drop in homicides and shootings, gun there have been 2,540 gun-related crimes in the city this year, compared with 2,542 in the first 11 months of last year.

Not much of a drop there.

Here are the stats released by the Maryland State Police: