Despite budget cuts and reductions in the number of park rangers, crime along the American River Parkway dropped dramatically last year, new figures from Sacramento County indicate.

Car break-ins, violent crime and misdemeanors all dropped in 2011 compared to the previous year, according to a ranger report released this week.

The only segment that saw an appreciable increase in activity was in the number of citations issued for illegal camping, an outgrowth of efforts by officials to stem the influx of homeless camping along the lower end of the parkway near Discovery Park.

Some attribute the decrease to the overall drop in the crime rate, a phenomenon that has been seen in jurisdictions nationwide.

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