Crime in Belle Fourche, South Dakota

Belle Fourche's crime rate

There were 98 crimes reported in Belle Fourche, South Dakota in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 1,750 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Belle Fourche compare?

Belle Fourche has a lower overall crime rate than the majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Belle Fourche's overall crime rate is 19% lower than the overall crime rate in South Dakota. Statewide, there were 19,197 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,170 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Belle Fourche, however, property crimes account for about 89% of all offenses.

Despite accounting for a higher than average share of total offenses, property crime is less prevalent in Belle Fourche than it is nationwide. There were 87 property crimes in Belle Fourche in 2019, or 1,554 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Belle Fourche. There were 75 larcenies reported in Belle Fourche in 2019, or 1,339 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 7 break-ins reported in Belle Fourche in 2019, or 125 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Belle Fourche, meanwhile, there were 5 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 89 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Belle Fourche, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 11% share of all reported crime.

At 196 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Belle Fourche is below the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Belle Fourche reported a total of 11 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Belle Fourche. There were 8 aggravated assaults reported in Belle Fourche in 2019, or 143 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is higher, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America, but there were no robberies reported in Belle Fourche in 2019. The national robbery rate was 86 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 3 rapes reported in Belle Fourche in 2019, or 54 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

While there were 16,425 murders nationwide in 2019, none were reported in Belle Fourche.

Belle Fourche compared to other cities in South Dakota

Belle Fourche has a lower crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in South Dakota. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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