Violent Crime, Property Crime Down for Worcester in 2015: FBI Data

WORCESTER, MA — New data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday indicates that the violent crimes known to law enforcement decreased in 2015 compared to 2014 in Worcester, and the number of property crimes also decreased in 2015.

According to the latest Uniform Crime Reporting statistics (UCR), there were 1,627 violent crimes reported in Worcester in 2015, compared to 1,762 violent crimes reported in 2014, representing a 7.5 percent decrease. The number of total property crimes decreased from 5,604 in 2014 to 5,375 in 2015, representing a decrease of four percent.

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 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. There were no reported murders or non-negligent manslaughter crimes reported in either year.

• Murder: 6 in 2014, 8 in 2015
• Rape (revised definition): 7 in 2014, 26 in 2015
• Robbery: 402 in 2014, 407 in 2015
• Aggravated Assault: 1,347 in 2014, 1,186 in 2015

Here's how Worcester'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.

• Burglary: 1,414 in 2014, 1,214 in 2015
• Larceny/Theft: 3,824 in 2014, 3,765 in 2015
• Motor Vehicle Theft: 366 in 2014, 396 in 2015

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.

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