Virginia’s Annual Crime Analysis Report Now Available on VSP Web Site
May 14, 2009 | Virginia News
RICHMOND – Virginia’s official and only comprehensive report on local and statewide crime figures for 2008 is now available online at the Virginia State Police Web site at http://www.vsp.virginia.gov, under “Forms & Publications.”
The detailed report, titled Crime in Virginia, provides precise rates and occurrences of crimes committed in towns, cities and counties across the Commonwealth. The report breaks down criminal offenses by the reporting agency as well as arrests by jurisdiction.
The following 2008 crime trends within Virginia are detailed in the report:- Virginia experienced a decline in violent crime of 4.7 percent compared to 2007; whereas, the FBI reports an estimated nationwide decrease of 3.5 percent for 2008.
- While there was a decrease in motor vehicle thefts of 6.6 percent, other property crimes such as larceny, fraud and stolen property offenses showed an increase of 3.6 percent, 4.3 percent, 2.1 percent, respectively.
- Unlike previous reporting periods, drug and narcotic offenses showed a decrease of 3.5 percent statewide during this period.
- Of the 7,486 robberies and attempted robberies, nearly one-third (32 percent) took place between 8 p.m. and midnight. The days of the week, however, showed little variability. Robberies occurred most often on Saturdays (16 percent) and Fridays (15 percent), but each of the other days of the week accounted for a nearly equal amount (14 percent).
- Of the known weapons reported, firearms were the most frequently used in homicides (70 percent) and robberies (61 percent).
- August saw the most number of burglaries, while February experienced the least. Most burglaries occurred between 4 p.m. and 5:59 p.m.
- For motor vehicle thefts, Friday and Saturday saw the highest number of offenses between 10 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. Over three quarters (76 percent) of the 8,903 automobiles reported stolen were recovered.
