63 Violent Crimes In Lakewood Last Year

LAKEWOOD, OH — The city of Lakewood reported 63 violent crimes in 2016, according to data released by the FBI on Monday. Violent crimes include murder, rape, robberies and aggravated assaults.

Lakewood had three murder or non-negligent manslaughter cases, eight rapes, 32 robberies and 20 aggravated assaults. The city did not report crime statistics to the FBI in 2015.

Property crime was an issue for the city in 2016. The city reported 144 burglaries, 665 larceny thefts, 67 stolen cars and four cases of arson. (Subscribe to the Patch Lakewood newsletter for local news and updates.)

The 2016 numbers are an improvement from the last stats the FBI has on-file for the city, 2014. That year, Lakewood had 68 violent crimes, including two murders or non-negligent manslaughter cases, six rapes, 32 robberies and 26 aggravated assaults.

"Violent crime has remained fairly consistent since 2010, when we started our Crime Initiative," Lakewood Police Chief Timothy Malley told Patch in an emailed statement. He noted there has been a drop, or consistent numbers in robberies, aggravated assaults and burglaries. "Theft of Vehicles continues to be a crime of opportunity, where keys are taken with the car."

The Bigger Picture

In Ohio, there were 654 murders reported, or 5.6 murders for every 100,000 people, in 2016, up from 500 murders, 0r 4.3 per every 100,000 in 2015, the FBI data shows. Additionally, the FBI data also shows that the number of rapes increased to 5,589 from 5,149, or 9%, and the number of aggravated assaults climbed to 16,111 from 15,695, or 3% in 2016 from 2015.

The uptick in violent crimes in Ohio mirrored an uptick nationally. 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.

“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.”

For more information on Ohio's uptick in violent crime, click here.

Photo from Renee Schiavone, Patch