Latest FBI Crime Report: See Trends In Pennsylvania

PENNSYLVANIA — Violent crimes increased slightly in Pennsylvania in 2019, but the state remains well below the national average, according to data released by the FBI in its 2019 uniform crime report.

The FBI estimated crime statistics across the Keystone State based on reports from 1,500 of the 1,533 law enforcement agencies statewide.

The data shows a slight rise from 2018's record low for violent crimes in Pennsylvania. The rate was 305.4 per 100,000 people in 2018, and inched to 306.4 in 2019. The national rate was 379.4.

Among the violent crimes, homicides rose in the state to 5 per 100,000, despite the national rate plummeting from 6.1 to 5.2

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania aggravated assaults rose more significantly, from 187.3 to 191.1 per 100,000 while the national rate remained steady. It's the sixth straight year aggravated assaults have increased in the state, since they stood at 174.3 in 2014.

Rapes ticked down slightly at both the national and state level, from 35 to 34 in Pennsylvania and 44 to 42.6 nationally.

Nationwide, the FBI reported a decrease in both violent and property crime from year to year. Violent crime went from a rate of 383.4 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 379.4 a year later, a decrease of about 0.5 percent. It's the third straight year violent crime decreased nationally, the FBI said.

Property crime numbers with the same control went from 2,209.8 to 2,109.9. There's been a downward trend nationwide in this category since 2009, with a decrease of 4.1 percent from 2018 to 2019. Pennsylvania has followed this trend down every year since 2011, dropping to 1,403.4 in 2019.

The nationwide downward crime trends continued into 2020, according to an overview of numbers from the first half of the year the FBI released a few weeks ago. But two subcategories in particular, murder and arson, have seen a significant increase in the six months that include the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter cases reported to the FBI by the 16,554 agencies that submitted last year's data increased by 14.8 percent from the first half of 2019 to the same period in 2020. Arson increased by an even greater rate — 19.2 percent, the FBI said.
The FBI has issued a caution about the crime data coming in at the local levels.

Lists comparing cities and counties "do not provide insight into the numerous variables that shape crime in a given state, county, city, town, tribal area or region," the FBI said in a statement

"These rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that can create misleading perceptions that adversely affect communities and their residents," the statement continued. "Only through careful study and analyses into the range of unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction can data users create valid assessments of crime."