The 2012 Part I Crime rate for Virginia Beach was 28.1 crimes per 1,000 residents, the lowest since 1965. Part I Crimes include both violent crimes -- homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault; and property crimes -- burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Annually, law enforcement agencies nationwide must report all crime uniformly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
For 2012, violent crime, which accounts for only 6.0% of our reported Part I Crimes, decreased by 2.4% when compared to 2011. Homicides increased 40.0% from 15 to 21. Robberies decreased 22.3% from 412 to 320. Aggravated assaults increased 19.5% from 292 to 349. Rapes increased 17.2% from 58 to 68. The Part I Crime rate for violent crime is 1.7 crimes per 1,000 residents for the City of Virginia Beach.
Property crime accounted for 94.0% of reported Part I Crime and decreased 3.4%. Burglaries decreased 23.1% and larcenies increased 0.7%. Motor vehicle thefts decreased 0.4% and arsons decreased 10.5%. The Part I Crime rate for property crime is 26.4 crimes per 1,000 residents.
The Virginia Beach Police Department cleared 65.2% of violent crime cases during 2012 and 29.6% of property crime cases. According to the most recent figures from the FBI’s 2011 Crime in the United States, the average violent crime clearance rate for all cities with a population of 250,000 or more was 40.0% and the average property crime clearance rate was 13.7%.
Chief James Cervera said, “We are pleased that our overall crime rate has continued to decline over a 10- year period. Last year violent crime was down by 2.4% and property crimes by 3.4%. Our continuous above national average clearance rate is a direct result of highly trained and educated officers and staff of the Virginia Beach Police Department. We also commend our highly successful Crime Solvers program and tireless citizen participation in keeping our city safe. We vow to remain focused on proactive crime prevention strategies and our goal-oriented focus on neighborhood issues revealed in 1400 door-to- door surveys. We will continue to reduce crime in 2013 using community partners and technology to allocate manpower where it is needed the most to ensure that Virginia Beach remains one of the safest cities in the nation."
See attached 10-year Part I Crime comparison chart for an overall picture of crime trends.