Crime

Measures

1. Number of violent crimes committed in Hall County by persons 17 years of age or older.
2. Rate of violent crimes committed by persons 17 years of age or older (per 1,000).
3. Number of property crimes committed in Hall County by persons 17 years of age or older.
4. Rate of property crimes committed by persons 17 years of age or older (per 1,000).

Why is this indicator important?

Crime takes a toll on the health of our communities through loss of life, fear for physical safety, property damage, disintegration of community cohesion, diversion of public resources from social services, and incarceration. 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classify crimes as index or non-index.  The eight index crimes can be sub-divided into those of a violent nature (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) and those affecting property (burglary, larceny, arson, and motor vehicle theft).  Because of their serious nature, these index crime offenses are considered a better indicator of the crime situation than is total crime, which includes many non-index offenses and minor infractions. 

Crime rates provide important information about our personal and public safety. 

Specifically, the index crimes include part I crimes (violent crimes): murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assaults; and part II crimes (property crimes): burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Although people in the U.S. are very worried about the crime rate, in actuality the rate has been declining over the last seven years or longer, depending on the type of crime examined.

How are we doing in Hall County?

• The crime rate, for both violent (5.3 per 1,000 in 2008) and other crimes (29.9 per 1,000 in 2008), is continuing to drop and is significantly lower than that of Georgia.

What does research tell us we can do to improve this indicator?

• When people have jobs and poor neighborhoods improve, crime goes down

• Crime also has been impacted by the implementation of tough sentencing laws

• Politicians claim credit because of their support for prison construction, longer mandated sentences, greater police funding, or policies that reduce unemployment and incentives to commit crimes. Police point to innovative strategies such as "community policing"

• Private citizens' growing investments of time and money in security

• Private crime control -- including voluntary watch, patrol and escort arrangements, alarms, improved locks and better lighting, self-protection, and private security personnel -- has been a growth industry for decades