Despite perceptions of rising crime, theft has become far less common in recent years than it used to be, and property crime rates declined even more sharply during the pandemic. That said, there are still hotspots where break-ins and burglaries are far more common than the typical American neighborhood. While approximately 400 burglaries and 1,700 larceny-thefts per 100,000 people annually have been the national norm over the past five years, there are cities in the United States that report rates double or even triple those numbers.
As with anything, an understanding of what burglars are after and where they are active can help keep the trend heading lower. Over the last decade, the number of larceny-thefts fell nearly 20% from 6.3 million to 5.1 million, and the number of burglaries were cut in half from 2.2 million to 1.1 million, according to FBI statistics from 2015 to 2019. And it’s not a new trend. Since 1993, property crimes declined dramatically—55% to 71% depending on which source of stats you look at, Pew Research found.
Looking at the past five years of crime data, burglars were about twice as likely to target a home than a business or other building, and nearly half of all burglaries occurred during broad daylight. Once in, thieves were often after two items in particular: money and jewelry. Together, those valuables were worth more than the remaining top categories of stolen goods combined. Of those other items, office equipment, electronics, and clothing were common targets.
Protecting your home and taking initiatives to deter potential burglars are obvious steps to fight crime, but choosing a safe location to begin with is one of the most important factors. For example, burglaries occur in New York, New Hampshire, and Virginia less than half as many times as the national average, while residents of New Mexico, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana are burglarized nearly twice as often. In general, states in the South have higher-than-average property crime rates, and the states in the Northeast enjoy the lowest theft rates of any region in America.
To find out which states were hotspots for theft, researchers at Porch analyzed data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program between 2015 to 2019 and then calculated the average number of burglaries and larceny-thefts per 100,000 residents.
The analysis found that in California, there is an average of 447 burglaries per 100,000 residents each year, compared to 422 per 100,000 people at the national level. Out of all U.S. states, California reports the 19th most burglaries per capita. Here is a summary of the data for California:
- Average annual burglaries per 100k: 447
- Average annual larceny-thefts per 100k: 1,616
- Average annual burglaries total: 175,917
- Average annual larceny-thefts total: 636,827
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:
- Average annual burglaries per 100k: 422
- Average annual larceny-thefts per 100k: 1,675
- Average annual burglaries total: 1,370,745
- Average annual larceny-thefts total: 5,439,917
For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Porch’s website: https://porch.com/advice/cities-with-the-most-break-ins-or-burglaries
Mike LaFirenza writes for Lattice News Wire
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