Crime in Colonial Heights, Virginia

Colonial Heights's crime rate

There were 791 crimes reported in Colonial Heights, Virginia in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 4,446 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Colonial Heights compare?

Colonial Heights has one of the highest overall crime rates of any U.S. city. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Colonial Heights's overall crime rate is 140% higher than the overall crime rate in Virginia. Statewide, there were 157,966 crimes reported in 2019, or 1,851 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 Colonial Heights, however, property crimes account for about 91% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in Colonial Heights than it is nationwide. There were 720 property crimes in Colonial Heights in 2019, or 4,047 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 Colonial Heights. There were 663 larcenies reported in Colonial Heights in 2019, or 3,726 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 37 break-ins reported in Colonial Heights in 2019, or 208 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 Colonial Heights, meanwhile, there were 20 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 112 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 Colonial Heights, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 9% share of all reported crime.

At 399 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Colonial Heights is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Colonial Heights reported a total of 71 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 Colonial Heights. There were 44 aggravated assaults reported in Colonial Heights in 2019, or 247 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is similar, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 6 robberies reported in Colonial Heights in 2019, a rate of 34 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 20 rapes reported in Colonial Heights in 2019, or 112 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There was one homicide reported in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Colonial Heights is 5.6 for every 100,000 people, higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Colonial Heights compared to other cities in Virginia

Colonial Heights has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Virginia. 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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