Needham Has Lowest Violent Crime Rate In State: Report

NEEDHAM, MA — The streets of Needham are a peaceful place and new data shows it's the least violent community in Massachusetts.

This week, the FBI released the 2016 Uniform Crime Report, which is a collection of crime data from police agencies across the country. Needham had the lowest per capita percentage of violent crime at 0.020 percent.

Overall, there were six reported violent crimes in Needham last year, along with four aggravated assaults, 177 property crimes, 19 burglaries, 157 larcenies and thefts, and a single motor vehicle theft.

On the other end of the spectrum, North Adams has the highest per capita percentage of violent crime at 1.38 percent. The state rate is 1,561.1 incidents per 100,000 people, down from 1,688.4 in 2015.

While interesting, the FBI cautions againstusing 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.

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