FBI: Property crimes down across the board in 2010

Property crimes decreased in all city categories in 2010 from a year prior, especially in larger metropolitan areas, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The agency reported a 2.8% decline in the number of property crimes last year with each category — burglary, larceny/theft, and motor vehicle theft — seeing drops from 2009. The number of stolen vehicles slid 7.2% last year, larcenies dropped 2.8% and burglaries fell 1.1%. Property crimes decreased in each region of the country with a 3.8% drop in the South; a 2.7% decline in the Midwest; a 2.5% reduction in the West; and a 0.5% dip in the Northeast. The FBI said property crimes fell the deepest in cities with populations of more than 500,000 and less than 1 million with a 4% drop. In more rural counties property crimes rose 2% in 2010 from a year earlier, with increases in the rate of burglaries (1.2%) and larcenies (3.2%). Although vehicle thefts decreased nearly 11% in cities with populations less than 10,000. The number of stolen vehicles in larger cities also declined with a 6.9% drop last year. Meanwhile, metropolitan counties saw property crimes fall 1.9% last year, as the rate fell across all three categories, according to the FBI’s preliminary annual uniform crime report. The FBI also said violent crimes fell 5.5% in 2010 from the year earlier. About 13,000 law enforcement agencies submit six-month and 12-month comparable data to the FBI for the annual report. Write to Jason Philyaw.