MIDDLETOWN – Violent crime in the state dropped nearly 10%, the fourth year where the numbers have declined.
Governor Dan Malloy and state public safety officials announced 2014 crime numbers at the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection in Middletown The FBI’s annual crime report shows that overall crime in Connecticut continued to drop in 2014, including a 9.7% decrease in violent crime.
The decline is just slightly less than the previous year. In 2013 crime decreased 10.1% over 2012. The total number of crimes reported for Connecticut in 2014 is the lowest total since 1967.
Malloy thanked law enforcement personnel. “We are making extraordinary strides in Connecticut, with crime at almost a 50-year low and violent crime dropping dramatically each year.” Governor Malloy said. “ We’ve implemented sweeping reforms, and we’ve enacted smart criminal justice policies. But we also must look at this issue through a holistic lens. The extraordinary investments in housing we’ve made, the initiatives to eliminate homelessness, all the work done by our partners to end addiction and give people a second chance – all of it plays a role in reducing crime.”
In states with a population of more than 1.3 million people, Connecticut saw the biggest drop in violent crime of any state in the nation.
The report said there was a 5.5% decrease in murders; a 12.2% decrease in rape; an 11% decrease in robberies, and an 8.4% decrease in aggravated assaults.
Since 2000, the number of violent crimes have largely held steady in Connecticut. There has been a 15 % drop over the last two years alone.
Nonviolent property crimes have also decreased in the state during 2014, including a 7.6% drop in burglaries, a 2.1 % drop in larcenies, and a 2.1 % drop in motor vehicle thefts.
The news is not good everywhere, however. Seventeen states experienced an increase in violent crime over the last year.
