WORCESTER - While the country on average saw a slight increase in violent crime last year, Worcester bucked that trend with violent crimes and property crimes both down in 2015 compared with 2014, according to the FBI’s annual crime statistics.
“Our strategies to reduce crime in the city are successful because of the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the Worcester Police Department,” Police Chief Steven M. Sargent said in an email. “On a weekly basis our Command Staff meets to discuss strategies to reverse any emerging negative crime trends. We also rely on feedback and issues raised from our neighborhood watch groups to pinpoint areas of concern. Once we identify problems or concerns in our neighborhoods, we work together to focus our resources in the area to solve immediate or long-term public safety issues.”
The FBI annually releases the number of crimes reported to its Uniform Crime Reporting Program by participating law enforcement agencies throughout the country. This year’s report of Crime in the United States, reports a 3.9 percent nationwide increase in the estimated number of violent crimes committed, while property crimes are down 2.6 percent in comparison with 2014 data.
But on a multi-year timeframe, nationwide crime is still down overall; The 2015 violent crime total (which includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) was still 0.7 percent lower than the 2011 level and 16.5 percent below the 2006 level, according to the FBI.
But in Worcester, the number of violent crimes and property crimes were both down in 2015 - by 7.6 percent and 4 percent respectively.
Not that all crimes were down across the board.
The number of murders and rapes reported were both up in 2015 compared with 2014. In 2015, the FBI recorded 8 murders and 26 rapes in Worcester while it recorded 6 and 7 in 2014, respectively (The city also reports annual crime statistics and Chief Sargent said one murder was misclassified when reported to the FBI in 2014.)
The number of murders reported in Worcester, however, was lower than in Springfield, Providence and Hartford, which recorded 18, 15, and 32 murders in 2015. Reported rapes were also lower; with Springfield, Providence and Hartford recording 95, 109, and 44 rapes in 2015, compared with the 26 recorded in Worcester.
Asked about the increased number of rapes, Chief Sargent said that any spike in a particular category of crime is concerning. He said the department’s Sexual Assault Unit is dedicated to thoroughly investigating all cases of sexual assault and works with community partners to assist victims.
However, the number of aggravated assaults reported in Worcester was down 12 percent - with 1,186 reported in 2015 compared with 1,347 in 2014, according to the FBI. This brought down the overall number of violent crimes.
In terms of property crimes - which include burglary, larceny, and motor-vehicle theft - the city also continued its downward trend.
Only motor-vehicle thefts were up, according to FBI data. But this eight percent increase was not enough to outweigh 200 fewer reported burglaries (down 14 percent) and 59 fewer reported larcenies (down 1.5 percent), according to the FBI.
In terms of long-term statistics, Worcester recorded its lowest number of violent crimes, aggravated assaults, property crimes, and burglaries in five years, according to FBI data.
Year to date, Chief Sargent said “we continue to see positive trends in various categories of crimes in 2016.”
He cited three major summer initiatives that have increased officers’ presence on the streets.
The Neighborhood Response Team was established in June to address quality of life issues through proactive enforcement, he said. He also cited the success of the Summer Impact Program, which coordinates increased police presence on days and nights when most effective, and noted daytime patrols in Main South this September which concentrated on issues of street-level drug dealing, prostitution, and other crimes in the neighborhood. The 2016 local numbers are expected to be made public in January.