Crime in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania

Lower Merion Township's crime rate

There were 903 crimes reported in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 1,510 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Lower Merion Township compare?

Lower Merion Township 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.

Lower Merion Township's overall crime rate is 12% lower than the overall crime rate in Pennsylvania. Statewide, there were 218,893 crimes reported in 2019, or 1,710 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 Lower Merion Township, however, property crimes account for about 97% of all offenses.

Despite accounting for a higher than average share of total offenses, property crime is less prevalent in Lower Merion Township than it is nationwide. There were 874 property crimes in Lower Merion Township in 2019, or 1,462 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 Lower Merion Township. There were 762 larcenies reported in Lower Merion Township in 2019, or 1,274 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 78 break-ins reported in Lower Merion Township in 2019, or 130 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 Lower Merion Township, meanwhile, there were 34 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 57 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 Lower Merion Township, however, violent offenses account for a much smaller 3% share of all reported crime.

At 49 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Lower Merion Township is well below the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Lower Merion Township reported a total of 29 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. In Lower Merion Township, however, robbery is the most commonly reported type of violent crime. There were 8 aggravated assaults reported in Lower Merion Township in 2019, or 13 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far higher, standing at 250 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 Lower Merion Township in 2019, a rate of 32 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 2 rapes reported in Lower Merion Township in 2019, or 3 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 Lower Merion Township.

Lower Merion Township compared to other cities in Pennsylvania

Lower Merion Township has a higher crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in Pennsylvania. 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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