THE BASE PERIOD FOR COMPARISON IS 1975, AND RATE OF CHANGE TABLES SHOW THE GROWTH (IF ANY) IN CRIME BETWEEN 1975 AND 1978. COMMENTARY AND TABLES DEAL WITH THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES OF CRIME: CRIMES OF VIOLENCE SUCH AS ASSAULT, ROBBERY, AND VIOLENT THEFT; BURGLARY; AUTOMOBILE CRIME; OTHER THEFT AND HANDLING; FRAUD AND FORGERY; AND MISCELLANEOUS. QUARTERLY CRIME TOTALS BY DIVISION AND CATEGORY OF CRIME ARE GIVEN. SPECIAL ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO THE NUMBER OF ARRESTS BY CRIMINAL OFFENSE CLASSIFICATION. THE 135,808 INDICTABLE CRIMES RECORDED DURING THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1978 REPRESENT A 6-PERCENT INCREASE OVER THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1977 AND A 13-PERCENT INCREASE OVER THE TOTAL FOR THE SAME QUARTER IN 1975. ROBBERY AND OTHER VIOLENT THEFT EXHIBITED THE HIGHEST INCREASE OF ALL CRIME CATEGORIES. AUTOMOBILE CRIME ALSO INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. OTHER THEFT AND HANDLING WAS THE ONLY CRIME CATEGORY TO SHOW A DECREASE. THE IMPACT OF SEASONAL VARIATIONS ON THE RATE OF GROWTH IN CRIME IS DISCUSSED. (DEP)