FBI Data: Murder, Rape Numbers Spiked Across Ohio In 2016

WASHINGTON, DC — The number of murders jumped by nearly 31% across the state of Ohio in 2016 from 2015, according to the FBI crimes stats released Monday. Nationwide, violent crime increased for the second consecutive year, the statistics show. The FBI statistics reveal that while violent crime increased, property crime fell for the same period.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, the violent crime rate rose 3.4 percent, and there were an estimated 17,250 murders in 2016, an 8.6 percent increase from 2015. The property crime rate, on the other hand, fell 2 percent compared to 2015 figures.

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.

The estimated rate of violent crime was 386.3 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the estimated rate of property crime was 2,450.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the FBI data. In 2015, the estimated rate of violent crime was 372.6 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,487.0 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants.

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.

On a bright note, the number of burglaries and robberies, actually decreased in Ohio. In 2015, there were 12,554 robberies, compared to 12,523 in 2016; and 69,303 burglaries in 2015, compared to 66,883 in 2016.

Experts at The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University say that overall, the data from the FBI show a decrease in the crime rate for the 15th year in a row.

The increase in the national murder rate is due in part to upticks in cities such as Chicago, accounting for more than 20 percent of the nationwide murder increase, the center explained. The 11 largest cities with populations greater than 1 million saw a 20 percent murder increase and a 7.2 percent violent crime increase. The Brennan Center says its analysis shows the murder rate increased 7.9 percent nationally, which is consistent with the FBI’s own findings. A preliminary analysis of crime in 2017 by the Brennan Center estimates that the rates of overall crime, violence and murder in the 30 largest cities will all decrease in 2017.

The overall crime rate decreased by 1.4 percent in 2016, according to the center’s analysis.

“The FBI’s data show trends similar to what we’ve found for crime, murder, and violence in 2016,” Ames Grawert, a counsel in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, said in a statement. “Crime remains near historic lows, with an uptick in murder and violence driven in part by problems in some of our nation’s largest cities. At the same time, other cities like New York are keeping crime down.”

The FBI said that of the 18,481 agencies eligible to participate in the program, 16,782 submitted data in 2016.

“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.”

The Trump administration has warned of a crime wave, and President Donald Trump has often singled out the city of Chicago, threatening to send in the feds to combat the violent crime.

In its analysis, the Brennan Center found that gun violence accounted for 93 percent of the increase in murders.

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