New FBI Report Shows Increase in Cary’s Violent Crime, Decrease in Property Crime
Cary, NC – The previous years’ crime data have shown that Cary is one of the safest, if not the safest, towns in the United States. But new FBI data shows an increase in violent crime in Cary in 2016, while property time decreased.
Uptick in Cary Violent Crime Rate
The FBI Uniform Crime Report compiles crimes known to law enforcement across the country, from the national level down to municipalities such as Cary.
In the 2016 report, Cary had 81 violent crimes known to law enforcement. Violent crimes include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, robbery, rape and aggravated assault.
In the 2017 report, Cary had 151 violent crimes reported. Reports of robbery, aggravated assault and rape were all up over the previous year, though there was only one murder or non-negligent manslaughter in Cary that year compared to five reported cases in the previous report.
This is part of a nationwide uptick in reported violent crime according to the FBI’s report, with 386.3 violent crimes per 100,000 people nationwide in 2016 and 373.7 in 2015. However, this is the fourth-lowest violent crime rate in the past 30 years. By comparison, the national violent crime rate was 479.3 per 100,000 people in 2006 and 611.0 per 100,000 people in 1997.
Property Crimes on Decline
While there was an increase in violent crime in Cary over the past year, property crime has continued to go down. In the 2016 FBI report, there were 1,902 reported property crimes in Cary. In the 2017 report, there were 1,656.
Burglary and larceny theft both dropped over the year, although the report had more cases of motor vehicle theft and arson.
This decrease is also part of a national trend, with a national property crime rate of 2,500.5 per 100,000 people in 2015 and a rate of 2,450.7 in 2016. Aside from a slight uptick in 2001, the national property crime rate has decreased every year since 1997.
With Cary’s increase in violence crime in 2016, it is still proportionally safer than most other municipalities in North Carolina and the safest for a town of its size.
Story by staff reports. Photo by Hal Goodtree.
