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The annual crime report released this week by the Greensboro Police Department is a little bit like finding your wallet on the sidewalk after someone stole it: You hate losing a few bucks, but you’re glad the thief didn’t touch your credit cards, driver’s license or the photos of your kids.

In other words, crime is still happening, but there are plenty of things in the report to be pleased about.

On the negative side of the ledger, the department’s report for 2011 tells us that homicides and rapes — crimes of extreme violence — were up last year as compared to 2010 as well as a three-year average from 2008 to 2010.

On the plus side, most other categories of crime are on the decline. In Greensboro, robberies of people and businesses are down. Burglary is down. Larceny, auto theft and aggravated assault all ticked up last year, but are down compared to the average of the three prior years.

The local homicide and rape numbers come as national figures are declining. Police couldn’t really explain the local increase. In both cases, the numbers remain pretty small. The one-year jump in homicides was from 16 to 25. Rapes went from 55 to 85 in a year after three straight years of declines. There seems to be little police can do to prevent either rape or homicide, as in most cases the perpetrator and victim knew each other before the crime took place.

When it comes to other violent crimes and property crimes, Greensboro police gave several reasons for declines here. Police said efforts to close illegal liquor houses and outdoor drug sales have helped reduce robberies. Working with apartment residents and installing new door locks in homes of burglary victims has helped cut down on break-ins. Education, cooperation and increased enforcement has reduced thefts of copper and other metals. Police said patrols of parking lots and neighborhoods have taken a bite out of thefts from motor vehicles.

The biggest change, according to the department, is that Chief Ken Miller has his officers doing more community outreach. The idea is that officers work with neighborhood and community groups to build trust with police and deal with local problems before they grow worse. Those proactive efforts can help stop crime and solve the crimes that happen.

It’s hard to say if these efforts are most of the story or just part of it. Crime nationwide has been going down steadily for years, and what’s happening in Greensboro might reflect that national trend. Still, what the local police department is doing certainly doesn’t seem to be hurting.

In the coming year, police said they plan to expand the property crimes squad, improve technology to know where crimes are happening, set up a domestic violence squad within the ranks of detectives and increase community outreach efforts.

All seem like practical and workable tactics. Here’s hoping next year’s crime numbers will show even more improvement.