Newton Violent Crime Totals Rise in 2015: FBI

NEWTON, MA – Violent crimes increased in Newton in 2015, though property crimes dipped compared to the previous year, according to new data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The latest Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics show there were 74 violent crimes reported in Newton in 2015, compared to 60 the year before, marking a 23.3 percent increase. Meanwhile, property crimes fell from 750 in 2014 to 738 in 2015, representing a 1.6 percent drop.

According to the UCR program, violent crime is composed of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crime includes 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. There were no reported murders in either year.

Rape (revised definition):

• 2015 - 12
• 2014 - 6

Robbery:

• 2015 - 13
• 2014 - 9

Aggravated Assault:

• 2015 - 49
• 2014 - 45

Here's how Newton's 2015 property crime statistics compared to its 2014 numbers. The FBI does not publish arson data unless it receives data from either the agency or the state for all 12 months of the calendar year. Arson statistics were reported for Newton, but there were no reported arsons in either year.

Burglary:

• 2015 - 109
• 2014 - 154

Larceny-theft:

• 2015 - 610
• 2014 - 572

Motor Vehicle Theft:

• 2015 - 19
• 2014 - 24

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.

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.

Image via Shutterstock

Joe Lipovich (Patch Staff) contributed to this report.