ATLANTA — New crime data for the City of Atlanta shows overall crime is down seven percent this year, but police say certain violent offenses are on the rise.

Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Jason Smith told members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee that while major crimes are trending downward, officers are seeing an uptick in robberies and aggravated assaults.

“We’re up a bit in robberies, and we’re up a bit in aggravated assaults,” Smith said, adding that those numbers have started to decline over the past two months.

Smith also noted a rise in road rage incidents and what he called “escalating violence.”

“There are a lot of road rage incidents, a lot of ‘I know you, you know me,’ but we have a disagreement and then things escalate into an aggravated assault,” he said.

Despite those concerns, Smith says Atlanta continues to see progress in key areas. Homicides are down 28 percent year to date, and shootings have decreased by 14 percent.

WSB’s Bill Caiaccio contributed to this story