Crime 

Crime takes a toll on the health of our communities through loss of life, fear for physical safety, property damage, disintegration of community cohesion, diversion of public resources from social services, and incarceration. The FBI Index Crime Rate is a basic indicator of the level of serious crime, expressed as number of crimes per 100,000 persons. The Index includes four major violent crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and four major property crimes (burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson).

• The overall index crime rate in King County decreased significantly from a high of 9,270 per 100,000 in 1987 to 4,820 per 100,000 in 2007. (figure 1) In contrast, the 2007 index crime rate in Washington State was 4,330 per 100,000 (data not shown).

• The rate of major violent crimes has decreased since 1985 in King County. The major violent crime rate has declined in the East Region and in Seattle since 1996, the first year that regional data were available, and remained constant in the North and South Regions.

• Aggravated assault is consistently the most common major violent crime, although it has shown a steady decline in the last decade (data not shown). An assault is aggravated if it involves the use of a weapon or means likely to produce death or serious injury.

• In 2006 there were 78 homicides in King County and 177 in Washington State. (figure 2)

• Overall, the homicide rates in King County and Washington State have declined since 1994 (data not shown).

• The average regional homicide rate between 1997 and 2006 was highest in Seattle (4.8 per 100,000) and South Region (4.5 per 100,000). Homicide rates have declined in Seattle since 1992 but rates in the South Region have not changed (data not shown).

• Homicide rates vary greatly by age. In the ten-year period from 1997 to 2006, people between the ages of 15 and 34 were more likely to be murdered than people in other age groups.

• Men were more than twice as likely to be victims of homicide as women. (figure 3) This difference is most striking in 20-24 year olds, among whom men were 8 times more likely to be murdered than women of the same age. A difference in homicide rates by gender persists in all age groups from age 15 up to age 55 (data not shown).

• African Americans were victims of homicide at a rate higher than all other racial/ethnic groups. (although almost double the rate for American Indian/Alaska Natives, the difference was not significant).

• On average from 1997 to 2006, homicide rates were greater in higher poverty neighborhoods. In neighborhoods where at least 1 in 5 persons was living below the poverty level, the homicide rate was 6.4 per 100,000. The homicide rate was 2.0 per 100,000 in neighborhoods where less than 1 in 20 lived in poverty (data not shown).

• Major property crimes include burglary, larceny/ theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The total property crime rate has decreased since 1985 in King County, and since 1996 – the first year of regional data available – has dropped in all regions but North (data not shown).

• Motor vehicle theft, which bucked the property crime drop by increasing in all four regions and King County until 2005, has declined significantly in Seattle and the County since 1996.(figure 4)

• The FBI reports that identity theft, a non-index crime, is now pervasive and growing. In 2006, Washington State ranked 9th highest in the U.S. in identity theft with a rate of 83.4 per 100,000, or 5,336 victims. This was a slight decrease from 2005, in which the rate was 92.4 per 100,000 and 7th in the nation (data not shown).

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