Reports of Violent Crime Up in Burlington: New FBI Data

BURLINGTON, MA — New data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday indicates that the violent crimes known to law enforcement increased in 2015 compared to 2014 in Burlington.

According to the latest Uniform Crime Reporting statistics (UCR), there were 55 violent crimes reported in Burlington in 2015, compared to 37 violent crimes reported in 2014 representing a 48.6 percent increase.

That's based on reported offenses documented in the FBI's 2015 Uniform Crime Report.

According to the UCR program, violent crime is composed of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crime is includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Here's a look at the difference in violent crimes reported between the two years as listed in the latest data.

• Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter: 1 in 2015, 0 in 2014
• Rape(revised definition): 5 in 2015, 7 in 2014
• Robbery: 10 in 2015, 3 in 2014
• Aggravated Assault: 39 in 2015, 27 in 2014

The UCR serves as guidelines for many things, from informing law enforcement decision on budgeting and resource allocation, to informing lawmakers' anti-crime legislation.

However, the FBI cautions against using them as a means of comparing different locales, since there are many factors at play, including but not limited to: population density and degree of urbanization; the number of young people; economic conditions; and family conditions.

Editor's Note: Patch is focusing for the purposes of this piece a year-over-year comparison, as well as a quick look at state versus local numbers for the years noted above. These data in isolation should not be considered a trend."

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