FBI Releases 2011 Crime Statistics for Washington State

Today, the FBI released its annual Crime in the United States report for American cities. Nationally, violent crime fell for the fifth year in a row, dropping 4.5 percent (per 100,000 people) in 2011. Property crime fell for the ninth year in a row, dropping by 1.3 percent.

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects data on specific violent crimes (murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and specific property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.) Compared to 2012, in 2011, six of the seven categories saw decreases nationally; only the number of burglaries increased nationally, and that increase was slight (0.2 percent per 100,000 people).

Highlights from cities with populations of more than 100,000 people in Washington—comparing 2011 to 2010—include:

• The rate of violent crime for Washington’s cities decreased by 6.0 percent (per 100,000 people), and its property crime rate decreased by 3.4 percent (per 100,000 people).
• In Seattle, there were decreases in the number of robberies, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts. There was a slight increase in the number of murders and non-negligent manslaughters (19 to 20) and increases in the number of rapes, aggravated assaults, and burglaries.
• In Bellevue, there were decreases in the number of aggravated assaults, burglaries, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts, and a slight decrease in the number of robberies (59 to 58). There was a slight increase in the number of murders and non-negligent manslaughters (zero to one) and an increase in the number of rapes.
• In Everett, there were decreases in the number of rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, larceny-thefts, and motor-vehicle thefts. The number of murders and non-negligent manslaughters remained the same (five) and there was an increase in the number of burglaries.
• In Spokane, there were decreases in the number of aggravated assaults and motor vehicle thefts, and a slight decrease in the number of murders/non-negligent manslaughter (six to four). There was a slight increase in the number of rapes and increases in the number of robberies, burglaries, and larceny-thefts.
• In Tacoma, there was a decrease in the number of murder and non-negligent manslaughters, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and larceny-thefts. There was an increase in the number of motor vehicle thefts.
• In Vancouver, there was a decrease in rapes, aggravated assaults, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts. There was an increase in murder and non-negligent manslaughters, robberies, and burglaries.

The breakdown for these Washington state cities is:

For specific information by region, state, and other cities within Washington, please refer to the following links:

• Crime in the U.S. by region, geographic division, and state
• Washington: Offenses known to law enforcement by city

Across the nation, more than 18,200 city, county, state, federal, college/university, and tribal law enforcement agencies voluntarily contribute data to this annual report.

The FBI simply compiles the information as it is provided from local jurisdictions. You will need to contact those local jurisdictions for any analysis of the numbers listed above. Also note that the report features a prominent message cautioning against using the statistics to rank cities or counties. Such rankings can lead to simplistic or incomplete analyses, overlooking the many variables impacting crime and its reporting.

The FBI has been producing the Uniform Crime Report since 1930.

View the entire report: Crime in the United States, 2011