Reported rapes and aggravated assaults were down in Vancouver in 2011, while murder was up dramatically and robberies and burglaries also increased, according to data released by the FBI on Monday.
According to FBI data, violent crimes — murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — as a whole decreased nationwide for the fifth year in a row in 2011. Property crime also reportedly decreased nationwide for the ninth straight year.
Camas, Ridgefield and unincorporated Clark County also saw violent crimes decrease in 2011, while Washougal saw an increase (23 in 2010 and 36 in 2011). La Center stayed the same with one violent crime being reported in both years.
As a comparison, Vancouver reported 671 violent crimes in 2010 and 633 in 2011.
In Vancouver, the number of rapes decreased from 112 in 2010 to 102 in 2011. Aggravated assaults were also down from 386 in 2010 to 337 in 2011. Also down were theft and motor vehicle theft.
Also in Vancouver: Murders jumped dramatically from 0 in 2010 to 9 in 2011. Robberies increased (185 in 2011 and 173 in 2010). Burglaries were up to 950 from 939 in 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Reported property crimes were also down for local agencies, with the exception of Ridgefield, which saw an increase of 7 cases to 68 total in 2011.
The FBI’s data comes from 18,000 law enforcement agencies that voluntarily submit data on crimes reported to them. In multi-crime incidents, the FBI only counts the highest-ranking crime. If crimes are not reported to local agencies, they are not included in the data estimates.
The numbers appear to contradict survey data released earlier this month by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The bureau reported it’s annual survey showed violent crime increased 17 percent in 2011 from 2010, the first rise in nearly 20 years. The increase was primarily due to a 22 percent jump in the number of aggravated and simple assaults.
According to the Associated Press, less than half of all crimes, including violent crimes, are historically reported to police.
