Crime has gone up in most Eastside cities, according to a report released this week, and police attribute much of the increase to rising trends in identity theft and methamphetamine use.

Property crimes, such as burglary, larceny and auto theft, jumped significantly from 2003-04 in such cities as Mercer Island, Woodinville and Kenmore, according to the report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).

Other agencies, such as the King County Sheriff's Office and Bothell, Bellevue and Snoqualmie police, saw smaller increases in property crimes last year.

Meth addicts often break into homes and cars to steal valuables and personal information as a way to make money to buy drugs, said Sgt. John Urquhart, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, which serves several Eastside cities, including Woodinville and Kenmore, and the unincorporated areas.

"Property crimes tend to run hand-in-hand with meth use, and we're having a huge problem with methamphetamine," Urquhart said.

The theft of personal information, such as Social Security and financial-account numbers, is growing, said Bellevue police spokesman Michael Chiu.

The WASPC report, which is issued annually, rates cities based on eight crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, car theft and arson. Crimes against property drove most of the increases.

Mercer Island has one of the lower crime rates on the Eastside, but its crime rate climbed 62 percent last year, the biggest increase among Eastside cities. Though the rate of violent crimes went down 6 percent, property crimes jumped 65 percent.

Woodinville, Kenmore and Bothell had crime-rate increases of 24 percent, 23 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Bellevue's crime rate went up nearly 12 percent, with violent crime increasing 6 percent and property crime rising almost 12 percent.

By comparison, Seattle's overall crime rate fell 7 percent, with dips in both property and violent crimes.

Some Eastside cities also saw crime decline. Duvall's crime rate dipped 52 percent. Sammamish had a 16 percent decrease, and Redmond's crime rate was down 4 percent.

King County's combined crime rate decreased slightly, by about 0.3 percent. Statewide, the crime rate rose 2 percent last year.

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com