Crime in Spirit Lake, Iowa

Spirit Lake's crime rate

There were 102 crimes reported in Spirit Lake, Iowa in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 2,001 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Spirit Lake compare?

Spirit Lake has a lower overall crime rate than the country as a whole. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Spirit Lake's overall crime rate is 0% similar to the overall crime rate in Iowa. Statewide, there were 63,109 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,000 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 Spirit Lake, however, property crimes account for only about 71% of all offenses.

Property crime is less prevalent in Spirit Lake than it is nationwide. There were 72 property crimes in Spirit Lake in 2019, or 1,413 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 Spirit Lake. There were 53 larcenies reported in Spirit Lake in 2019, or 1,040 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 13 break-ins reported in Spirit Lake in 2019, or 255 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 Spirit Lake, meanwhile, there were 6 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 118 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 Spirit Lake, however, violent offenses account for a larger 29% share of all reported crime.

At 589 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Spirit Lake is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Spirit Lake reported a total of 30 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 Spirit Lake. There were 26 aggravated assaults reported in Spirit Lake in 2019, or 510 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, but there were no robberies reported in Spirit Lake in 2019. The national robbery rate was 86 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 4 rapes reported in Spirit Lake in 2019, or 79 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 Spirit Lake.

Spirit Lake compared to other cities in Iowa

Spirit Lake has a higher crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in Iowa. 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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