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When a man wearing a white bandana and sunglasses robbed a Salt Lake City pharmacy in September, he made off with prescription drugs and helped boost violence in Utah's largest community.

Violent crime in Salt Lake City reached a seven-year high in 2006, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Justice. The numbers were better in West Valley City and Provo, the other two Utah cities for which 2006 data is available. Violent crime decreased there. Property crime decreased in all three cities.

In Salt Lake City, violent crimes - which typically include any crime with force or the threat of force - jumped by 14.7 percent over 2005, the FBI crime report indicates.

Forcible rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults in Utah's capital city all increased over that period, according to the federal statistics. The report shows there were eight Salt Lake murders in 2006, declining slightly from nine in 2005.

Salt Lake City police on Tuesday were unable to offer explicit reasons for most of the violent crime increase. Police spokesman Jeff Bedard said the department believes pharmacy bandits are influencing the boost in robberies.

Statistics suggest more is at work than pharmacy robberies. Salt Lake City police have recorded just six such robberies since September 1, Bedard said. In all, the city had 505 robberies last year.

"That's something that right now we're going to keep figuring out what the differences stem from because that's a pretty good increase," Bedard said.

Robbers, like the one who entered the Apothecary Shoppe, 1002 E. South Temple, on Sept. 20, demand prescription pain relievers from pharmacists. The Apothecary robber held his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun, police said.

Violent crime had declined in Salt Lake City in 2005. Mayor Rocky Anderson touted the decrease in February as he tried to calm the public's concerns after the killings at Trolley Square.

Overall violent crimes declined from 2005 to 2006 in both Provo and West Valley City, falling by about 12.4 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively. Murders, rapes and aggravated assaults also fell in those two cities, while robberies rose.

Property crimes, which include burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft, declined in Salt Lake, West Valley and Provo, although West Valley and Provo saw such crimes drop by 18.8 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively. Salt Lake City's property crime number fell by only 3.6 percent.

Provo police Capt. Cliff Argyle attributed community policing and good relationships with citizens for the statistics in his city.

"I think they feel good in calling us when they see something out of the ordinary," Argyle said.

In West Valley, police Capt. Tom McLachlan said his department added officers to investigate and suppress gang activity.

"While you can't hang [the decrease] on that nail, we feel it has had a significant impact on our violent crime," he said.

Also, patrol officers in West Valley have put more emphasis on monitoring neighborhoods to prevent property crimes, McLachlan said.

Nationwide, the FBI statistics show property crime decreased 2.9 percent from 2005 to 2006, while violent crime rose from the second straight year, growing by 1.3 percent for the U.S. as a whole.

The annual report is based on statistics gathered from over 11,700 law enforcement agencies across the country.

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* TONY SEMERAD contributed to this report.