As crime dips nationwide, Washington state numbers trend in opposite direction

A new report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that while violent crime has trended down nationwide, Washington state’s numbers have been moving in the opposite direction.

Across the country, the most serious crimes are declining -- that includes homicides, rapes, and assaults. The 10-year high between 2012 and 2022 for the U.S. topped out in 2020 at 398.5 violent crimes per 100,000 people. In that same year, Washington’s rate was 293.7 per 100,000.

A year later, Washington jumped up to 337.5 per 100,000 in 2021, before rising all the way to 375.6 in 2022. That’s while the national rate dropped to 380.7 per 100,000 in 2022.

While most major crimes have risen in Washington over the last three years, it’s vehicle thefts which have really jumped up. Between 2012 and 2020, the state’s high in that category was 443.9 per 100,000 people in 2016. A new high mark was set in 2021 at 460.1, and then again in 2022 at 639.3.

You can see the full report from the FBI at this link.

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