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| English: The state seal of Virginia. Српски / Srpski: Застава америчке савезне државе Вирџиније. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The following 2012 crime trends
within Virginia
ü Virginia
ü Property crime such as burglary,
larceny and motor vehicle theft decreased 3.3 percent; the FBI figures for the
same period of time are not yet available.
ü The homicide rate increased slightly
for 2012 (3.86) compared to 2011 (3.77) per 100,000 population. Based on the
ages reported, victims tended to be older than offenders; 23 percent of
homicide victims were 50 years of age or older, while only 6 percent of
offenders were in the same age group.
ü Motor vehicle thefts and attempted
thefts decreased 8.0 percent. Of the
8,988 motor vehicles stolen, 4,729 or slightly over one-half were recovered
(52.6%). Automobiles and trucks stolen had the highest percent recovered (62.4
percent, 62.9 percent), while recreational and “other” motor vehicles
(motorcycles, mopeds, snowmobiles, etc.) had the lowest percent recovered (35.6
percent, 32.5 percent). Four out-of-ten (40.3 percent) of all motor vehicle
offenses were reported stolen from the location of residence or home. The value
of all motor vehicles stolen was $59,806,194, while the value recovered was
$33,021,149 (52.2 percent).
ü Drug and narcotic offenses showed
slight decreases in 2009 (-2.5%) and 2008 (-3.5%). For the past three years
drug offenses have increased compared to the previous year (5.3 percent in
2010, 7.1 percent in 2011 and 9.4 percent for 2012).
ü Fraud offenses increased by 7.5
percent when compared to 2011.
ü Robbery decreased 13.2 percent. Of
the 4,729 robberies and attempted robberies, 37 percent took place between 8 pm. and midnight . The days of the week showed little
variability with the most robberies occurring on Saturdays (16 percent) and the
fewest on Thursdays (13 percent).
ü Of the weapons reported, firearms
were the most frequently used in homicides (71 percent) and robberies (57
percent).
There
were 143 hate crimes reported in 2012. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) were
racially or ethnically motivated. Bias toward sexual orientation was next
highest (19 percent) while bias toward religion comprised 16 percent. The
remaining 2 percent reported was attributed to a bias against a victim’s
physical or mental disability. The offense of destruction/damage/vandalism of
property was associated in just over half of all reported bias motivated crimes
(51 percent).
The report employs an
Incident Based Reporting (IBR) method for calculating offenses, thus allowing
for greater accuracy. IBR divides crimes into two categories: Group A for
serious offenses including violent crimes (murder, forcible rape, robbery and
aggravated assault), property crimes and drug offenses, and Group B for what
are considered less serious offenses such as trespassing, disorderly conduct,
bad checks and liquor law violations where an arrest has occurred.
For Group A offenses,
between 2011 and 2012, adult arrests in Virginia
Per state mandate, the
Department of Virginia State Police serves as the primary collector of crime
data from participating Virginia
