Crime in Decatur, Georgia

Decatur's crime rate

There were 617 crimes reported in Decatur, Georgia in 2018, the most recent year crime data is available for the city. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,519 incidents for every 100,000 people.

In September 2020, the FBI released crime figures for 2019, however, as a complete dataset for Decatur was not included in that release, 2018 data is shown here.

How does Decatur compare?

Decatur has a lower overall crime rate than the country as a whole. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,580 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Decatur's overall crime rate is 13% lower than the overall crime rate in Georgia. Statewide, there were 305,093 crimes reported in 2018, or 2,900 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 2018. In Decatur, however, property crimes account for about 93% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in Decatur than it is nationwide. There were 576 property crimes in Decatur in 2018, or 2,352 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,200 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 Decatur. There were 476 larcenies reported in Decatur in 2018, or 1,944 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,595 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 61 break-ins reported in Decatur in 2018, or 249 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 327 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2018.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 229 for every 100,000 people. In Decatur, meanwhile, there were 39 motor vehicle thefts in 2018, or 159 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 more than 8.4 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2018. In Decatur, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 7% share of all reported crime.

At 167 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Decatur is well below the national violent crime rate of 381 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Decatur reported a total of 41 violent crimes in 2018.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. In Decatur, however, robbery is the most commonly reported type of violent crime. There were 17 aggravated assaults reported in Decatur in 2018, or 69 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far higher, standing at 247 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 19 robberies reported in Decatur in 2018, a rate of 78 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 86 per 100,000 in 2018.

Rape

There were 2 rapes reported in Decatur in 2018, or 8 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,380 rapes in 2018, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There were 3 homicides committed in the city in 2018. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Decatur is 12.2 murders for every 100,000 people, considerably higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Decatur compared to other cities in Georgia

Decatur has a lower crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in Georgia. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2018 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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