The Saint Paul Police Department today (Friday, Jan. 25) released preliminary year-end crime statistics for 2018.
Overall, Part I crime decreased last year by 7.2 percent, according to data compiled by the police department. The data show that the decrease was largely driven by significant decreases in criminal homicides as well as reported robberies, burglaries, thefts and arsons.
The city did experience an increase in reported rapes, motor vehicle thefts and aggravated assaults.
Part I offenses are defined by and reported to the FBI and include eight crimes: criminal homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson.
The following is a list of the number of reports for each category received in 2018 as well as the percentage change from the previous year:
- 15 criminal homicides (31.8 percent decrease),
- 560 robberies (19.7 percent decrease),
- 1,909 burglaries (16.1 percent decrease),
- 5,877 thefts (10.6 percent decrease),
- 110 arsons (23.1 percent decrease),
- 1,089 aggravated assaults (2.7 percent increase),
- 2,296 motor vehicle thefts (10.2 percent increase), and
- 277 rapes (27.6 percent increase).
According to data published by the FBI, the city’s Part I crime index is 8.7 percent lower than it was in 2013. Saint Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell attributes the reduction to many factors, including exceptional work by the women and men of the police department, community engagement and partnerships with businesses and social service providers.
“Saint Paul is a city united in its effort to keep our streets safe for everyone,” he said. “Our officers are building strong relationships. Community members are engaging with their police department at historic levels. And businesses are investing in our city and creating opportunities for people to succeed.
“Combined, this adds up to a safe place to live, raise families, work and play. But we know that we must remain vigilant and galvanized in our resolve to keep the peace and maintain public safety today, tomorrow and into the future.”
Because the data is based on initial incident information that does not include a final assessment of victims or unfounded reports of crime, it is considered preliminary. It is possible that the final percentage could change slightly when it is submitted to the FBI for Uniform Crime Reporting purposes later this year.
Once submitted, that information, along with data for previous years can be found at https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr.
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