Twenty-five-year statistics are provided for homicide, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. These offenses are presented in the subcategories of violent crimes and property crimes. In Rhode Island in 1994, the violent- crime volume is nearly twice as high as it was in 1970, but the violent crime rate is 25 percent below the New England average and 46 percent lower than the national average. A homicide volume that was at a 25-year low in 1972 reached a high in 1977. Seven decreases in the next 9 years returned the number of homicides to its previous level; however, four consecutive increases and six in the last 8 years brought the number of homicides to 43 in 1994, 43 percent higher than the number in 1970. Rapes account for less than one-half of 1 percent of all crime and about 5 percent of violent crime in the State since 1970. Approximately 2 percent of all serious crimes and 30 percent of violent crimes in the State in the last 25 years have been robberies. The most common violent crime is assault, which accounts for more than 4 percent of all serious offenses and nearly 64 percent of all violent crimes in the State. Unlike violent crime, the property crime rate is lower in 1994 than it was 25 years ago. Just over a quarter of all serious crimes (27 percent) during the 25 years were burglaries. More than half of all serious crimes reported in the State over the study period have been larcenies, which includes shoplifting, pickpocketing, and other types of theft. Extensive graphic and tabular data are provided.
Highlights and Analysis From Twenty-Five Years of Collecting Serious Crime Data: A State, Cities and Towns Study, 1970-1994
NCJ Number
158813
Date Published
September 1995
Annotation
This report tracks and analyzes seven major crime offenses in Rhode Island over 25 years (1970-1994) for the State as a whole and each city and town that participates in the Uniform Crime Reporting program.
Abstract
Date Published: September 1, 1995