Crime in Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls's crime rate

There were 3,707 crimes reported in Great Falls, Montana in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 6,322 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Great Falls compare?

Great Falls 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.

Great Falls's overall crime rate is 143% higher than the overall crime rate in Montana. Statewide, there were 27,768 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,598 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 Great Falls, however, property crimes account for about 92% of all offenses.

Property crime is much more prevalent in Great Falls than it is nationwide. There were 3,405 property crimes in Great Falls in 2019, or 5,807 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 Great Falls. There were 2,826 larcenies reported in Great Falls in 2019, or 4,820 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 318 break-ins reported in Great Falls in 2019, or 542 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 Great Falls, meanwhile, there were 261 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 445 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 Great Falls, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 8% share of all reported crime.

At 515 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Great Falls is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Great Falls reported a total of 302 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 Great Falls. There were 245 aggravated assaults reported in Great Falls in 2019, or 418 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 18 robberies reported in Great Falls in 2019, a rate of 31 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 39 rapes reported in Great Falls in 2019, or 67 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 Great Falls.

Great Falls compared to other cities in Montana

Great Falls has the highest crime rate of all comparable cities in Montana. 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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