Crime in New Bern, North Carolina

New Bern's crime rate

There were 1,124 crimes reported in New Bern, North Carolina in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 3,724 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does New Bern compare?

New Bern has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

New Bern's overall crime rate is 36% higher than the overall crime rate in North Carolina. Statewide, there were 286,231 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,729 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 New Bern, however, property crimes account for about 89% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in New Bern than it is nationwide. There were 999 property crimes in New Bern in 2019, or 3,309 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 New Bern. There were 787 larcenies reported in New Bern in 2019, or 2,607 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 195 break-ins reported in New Bern in 2019, or 646 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 New Bern, meanwhile, there were 17 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 56 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 New Bern, however, violent offenses account for a smaller 11% share of all reported crime.

At 414 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in New Bern is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in New Bern reported a total of 125 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 New Bern. There were 99 aggravated assaults reported in New Bern in 2019, or 328 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is 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 21 robberies reported in New Bern in 2019, a rate of 70 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 5 rapes reported in New Bern in 2019, or 17 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 New Bern.

New Bern compared to other cities in North Carolina

New Bern has a crime rate near the middle of all comparable cities in North Carolina. 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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