By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The safest place to have lived in 2015 in the local area was Austin, followed by Cabot, according to figures recently released by the FBI.
Jacksonville, followed by England, were the most dangerous cities in The Leader’s coverage area, but still safer than Little Rock, North Little Rock.
Austin reported just eight violent crimes in 2015, along with 51 property crimes, giving it a rate of 17 crimes per 1,000 residents. Austin’s rate was almost twice as good as the next city’s numbers.
Cabot, with 47 violent crimes and 520 property crimes, had rate of 33 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Violent crimes include murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
After two years of decline, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation increased 3.9 percent in 2015 when compared with 2014 data, according to the FBI figures.
Property crimes dropped 2.6 percent, marking the 13th straight year the collective estimates for these offenses declined.
The 2015 statistics show the estimated rate of violent crime was 3.72 offenses per 1,000 residents. Locally, the most violent city was England with a rate of 12 offenses per 1,000 residents followed by Jacksonville with eight per 1,000.
Here are statistics for local cities:
Austin, with a population of 3,407, had eight violent crimes (seven of them sexual assaults or rapes) and 51 property crimes reported in 2015 for a rate of 17 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Beebe, with a population of 8,138, had 27 violent crimes (23 of them were aggravated assaults) and 242 property crimes for a rate of 33 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Cabot, with a population of 26,064, had 47 violent crimes (33 of the crimes were aggravated assaults) in 2015 and 520 property crimes for a rate of 21 crimes per 1,000 resdients.
Carlisle, with a population of 2,198, had seven violent crimes (five of them were aggravated assaults) and 61 property crimes for a rate of 31 crimes per thousand.
England, with a population of 2775, had 33 violent crimes (including 11 sexual assaults) and 106 property crimes, meaning 50 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Lonoke, with 42,65 residents, had 13 violent crimes (including one homicide) in 2015 and had 126 property crimes for an average of 33 crimes per 1,000.
Jacksonville, with a listed population of 28,902 had 218 violent crimes last year (including one homicide) and 1,395 property crimes for a rate of 56 crimes per 1,000 residents.
Sherwood, with a population of 30,572, had 140 violent crimes reported (113 of those were aggravated assaults) and 1,181 Property crimes for an average of 43 offenses per 1,000 residents.
Ward, with a population of 4,747 had 44 violent crimes and 109 property crimes, which worked out to 32 crimes per 1,000.
Nationally, the violent crime rate rose 3.1 percent compared with the 2014 rate, and the property crime rate declined 3.4 percent.
In 2015, there were an estimated 1,200,000 violent crimes. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter increased 10.8 percent when compared with estimates from 2014.
There were only two homicides listed in the paper’s coverage area for 2015: One in Jacksonville and one in Lonoke.
In Arkansas, the deadliest towns in 2015 were Dumas, which had three homicides or an average of six homicides per 10,000, and Helena-West Helena with its six homicides worked out to five murders per 10,000 people. That compares to 32 homicides in Little Rock or two per 10,000 residents.
Collectively, victims of property crimes nationwide (excluding arson) suffered losses estimated at $14.3 billion in 2015.
The FBI estimated that law-enforcement agencies nationwide made 10.8 million arrests, excluding traffic violations, in 2015.
More than 16,000 city, county, university and college, state, tribal and federal agencies submitted 2015 crime statistics to the FBI. For this area, the FBI had no data for Searcy.
