Many people choose where to live based on their concern for living in a safe community. They want to feel safe in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities. Unfortunately, crime happens everywhere. Some people look to crime rates to get a sense of community safety, but that can sometimes be confusing due to how crime statistics are reported.
Crime is generally reported by category: violent crime, property crime, and other types of crime. The FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program collects data about crime from law enforcement entities across the county and compiles it into a database. This helps give a fuller picture of what is going on across the country and aids in looking for patterns in where crime occurs. In general, socioeconomic status, population density, unemployment rates, availability of educational opportunities, and effectiveness of local law enforcement can play a role in crime levels.
Violent Crime
Violent Crime includes murder and non-negligent homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. In general, these types of crimes involve the use of force against the victim. For the Statesboro Police Department, aggravated assault is the most prevalent type of crime, which includes domestic disturbances.
Property Crime
Property crime includes burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. These crimes involve taking money or property from victims when there is no threat or use of force against the victim. Sometimes people use the words burglary and theft interchangeably, but they have different meanings. Burglary involves breaking into a building to steal, while theft is used when someone's property is stolen without necessarily breaking in. An example of theft may be a relative taking money from your purse without your permission or a roommate taking something that belongs to you. In these two cases, the person committing the theft didn't break in, but they did steal. In Statesboro, theft is the most prevalent form of property crime.