State’s crime rate drops

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005 | 10:44 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- On average, there was one murder in Nevada every 49 hours in 2004. And a vehicle was stolen every 23 minutes last year.

But Nevada's overall crime rate fell in 2004 after four straight years of increases, officials noted Tuesday in the latest Crime and Justice in Nevada Report, published by the state Department of Public Safety. The statistics come from the local law enforcement agencies.

Based on the growing population, the crime rate in Nevada dropped to 46.9 offenses per 1,000 residents, down from 48.12 in 2003 in the eight major crime categories.

Nationally the crime rate was 44.6 per 1,000 residents in 2003. The national crime rate and other national crime statistics for 2004 are not yet available. As for the Las Vegas Valley, its crime rate will always be higher than the rest of the state because it is a metropolitan area, Grant Stitt, chairman of UNR's criminal justice department, said.

There is one segment of the report in which Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County stand out -- hate crimes. Of the total 76 hate crimes reported statewide, 68 were handled by Metro Police. These involved vandalism, assault, intimidation and robbery.

Of the 68 hate crimes logged in Metro's jurisdiction, 31 were committed against blacks, 10 against Jews, seven against homosexuals and five against Hispanics, according to the report.

Still, the overall crime rate decreased in Clark County in 2004. The survey said police agencies in Clark County reported 86,674 crimes for a rate of 50.5 offenses per 1,000 residents. The clearance or arrests totaled 17,466 or a 20.1 percent rate. In 2003, there were 83,0001 crimes for a 51.2 rate. Arrests totaled 13,636 or a 16.4 clearance rate for 2003.

Statewide, the numbers of reported murders, robberies and larcenies in Nevada decreased in 2004 compared with the numbers reported in each of the prior two years, but the numbers of reported rapes, assaults, burglaries, vehicle thefts and arsons all rose in 2004. Another way to look at it is by grouping the crimes as violent or property crimes. As a group, the annual total of violent crimes -- murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults -- increased by 4.2 percent in 2004, up to 14,387 from 13,811 in 2003.

For every 1,000 people in Nevada, there were 6 violent crimes reported in 2004. Property crimes -- burglaries, larcenies, vehicle thefts and arsons -- increased by 2.3 percent in 2004. As a group, there were 98,902 reported compared with 96,709 in 2003.

Property crimes made up 87.3 percent of all index crimes reported in Nevada in 2004, the report noted. For every 1,000 people in Nevada in 2004, there were 41 property crimes reported.

Law enforcement agencies in Nevada cleared or made arrests in 21.3 percent of all the reported crimes in 2004, an increase of 2.9 percent over the prior year's clearance rate. The national average was 21.40 in 2003.

There were 156,076 juveniles and adults arrested in Nevada last year, or about 65 out of every 1,000 residents, an increase of 0.02 percent compared with the prior year. Maj. Bob Wideman, chief of the Nevada Department of Public Safety's Records and Identification Bureau, said Monday the report makes no analysis of the trends. What is happening in Las Vegas may be entirely different than what is occurring in another county, he said.

"Comparison of crime figures between communities should not be made without first considering individual factors present in each community," said the report.

Stitt had another caveat regarding the report: "You can't tell much from one year. You need to look at the longer trends." Stitt also considers Nevada and its crime to be unique because the state attracts many thrill seekers. The casinos don't generate crime, he said. There is heavy security in the casinos, he said.

But the economy of the state attracts transients and many low-income workers who are under "severe economic pressure to meet" their needs, Stitt said.

Among other statistics in the crime report: