TRUE CRIME
Before we get a rotator cup injury patting ourselves on the back for the drop in Indianapolis’ homicide rate from a near record 153 in 2006 to 124 in 2007, there are some other disturbing crime trends that have gone unreported which go to the quality of life of this community.
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, in 2006 aggravated assaults increased 27 percent, residential burglaries were up 33 percent and robberies were up 27 percent. And if you really want to put this in some perspective, let’s go back to 2002. Since 2002, the number of reported robberies has increased 27 percent from 3,000 to 3,815. Burglaries went from 9,662 in 2002 to 12,191 for an increase of 26 percent. My personal favorite category is aggravated assaults, because had someone had better aim or not as good health care, they’d be dead. In 2002 there were 4,200 reported aggravated assaults. In 2006, that number rose to 4,955 for an increase of 18 percent.
When you add up all the major felonies, murder, residential burglary, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, arson and larceny the total in 2002 was 48,503. In 2006 that number rose 16 percent to 56,134. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Marion County’s population grew over that time and more people translate into more crime.” Well, not really. According to the same FBI stats, the total population for the area covered by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was 804,034 in 2002. In 2006, that number was 800,969 for a drop of 0.4 percent. So we have slightly fewer people than four years ago, but a lot more crime.
And just to make you feel better, in 2002 there were 6,000 reported crimes per 100,000 citizens. In 2006, that number was 7,000. So your chances of being a victim of a major felony have gone up 17 percent in the past four years. And unlike murder, where the victim and the assailant usually know each other, odds are you won’t know the person who makes you a statistic for the 2008 uniform crime statistics.
