2016 FBI Crime Report: Robberies Up, Assaults Down In Highland Park, Highwood

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — While newly published statistics show violent crime increased nationally for the second consecutive year, both violent crime and property crime declined in Highland Park and Highwood in 2016. The new data show fewer reported assaults, more reports of robberies and fewer burglaries. The FBI released its annual Crime in the United States report Monday, compiling information on every offense and arrest reported by more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies who take part in the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The following information comes from that report.

There were 21 violent crimes reported in Highland Park in 2016 – including robberies, aggravated assault, rape, murder and manslaughter – down from 23 in 2015, though still higher than the 18 reported in 2014. Last year's decline was due to the amount of aggravated assaults falling by six, despite robberies increasing from none reported in 2015 to four in 2016. There were seven rapes reported in each of the last two years in Highland Park and none in Highwood.

Property crimes have declined in Highland Park in each of the past three years, from 333 in 2014, to 296 in 2015 and to 265 in 2016. The number of stolen cars fell from 20 in 2015 to 12 in 2016, while the number of burglaries dropped from 37 in 2015 to 22 in 2016.

The number of stolen cars dropped in Highland Park from 20 in 2015 to 12 in 2016. But in smaller Highwood, there were four motor vehicle thefts reported in 2016 compared to two in 2015. Highwood saw a fall in burglaries from 10 in 2015 to to two last year, leading to an overall drop in property crime. There were no instances of arson in either Highland Park or Highwood in 2016, according to the FBI report. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Highland Park — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Nationwide, the violent crime rate rose 3.4 percent, and there were an estimated 17,250 murders in 2016, an 8.6 percent increase from 2015. The property crime rate, on the other hand, fell 2 percent compared to 2015 figures.

The FBI report shows there were an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes in the U.S. in 2016, and while those numbers rose from 2015 to 2016, the five-year trend shows an increase of 2.6 percent from 2012, and the 10-year trend shows a decrease in violent crimes of 12.3 percent from 2007. Murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault are considered by the FBI to be violent crimes.

The estimated rate of violent crime was 386.3 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the estimated rate of property crime was 2,450.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the FBI data. In 2015, the estimated rate of violent crime was 372.6 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,487.0 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants.

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Experts at The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University say that overall, the data from the FBI show a decrease in the crime rate for the 15th year in a row.

The increase in the national murder rate is due in part to upticks in cities such as Chicago, accounting for more than 20 percent of the nationwide murder increase, the center explained. The 11 largest cities with populations greater than 1 million saw a 20 percent murder increase and a 7.2 percent violent crime increase. The Brennan Center says its analysis shows the murder rate increased 7.9 percent nationally, which is consistent with the FBI’s own findings. A preliminary analysis of crime in 2017 by the Brennan Center estimates that the rates of overall crime, violence and murder in the 30 largest cities will all decrease in 2017.

The overall crime rate decreased by 1.4 percent in 2016, according to the center’s analysis.

“The FBI’s data show trends similar to what we’ve found for crime, murder, and violence in 2016,” Ames Grawert, a counsel in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, said in a statement. “Crime remains near historic lows, with an uptick in murder and violence driven in part by problems in some of our nation’s largest cities. At the same time, other cities like New York are keeping crime down.”

The FBI said that of the 18,481 agencies eligible to participate in the program, 16,782 submitted data in 2016.

“For the sake of all Americans, we must confront and turn back the rising tide of violent crime. And we must do it together,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with our state, local, and tribal partners across the country to deter violent crime, dismantle criminal organizations and gangs, stop the scourge of drug trafficking, and send a strong message to criminals that we will not surrender our communities to lawlessness and violence.”

The Trump administration has warned of a crime wave, and President Donald Trump has often singled out the city of Chicago, threatening to send in the feds to combat the violent crime.

In its analysis, the Brennan Center found that gun violence accounted for 93 percent of the increase in murders.

Patch editor Feroze Dhanoa contributed

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