Larceny-theft — defined as the unlawful taking of property — is the most common form of property crime in the United States. Pickpocketing, shoplifting, and bicycle theft are some common examples of larceny. While larceny includes theft of property of any value, the vast majority of larceny cases reported are of items worth $200 or more, according to the FBI.
Larceny has become far less common in the U.S. in recent years. In the last decade, the number of reported larceny cases fell by nearly 19%. In 2019, the most recent year of available data, the FBI tallied about 5.1 million cases of larceny nationwide — or 1,550 incidents for every 100,000 people.
In Galax, Virginia, larceny is more than twice as common as it is nationwide. In 2019, a total of 226 larceny-thefts were reported in the city — or 3,576 for every 100,000 people. Click here to see the full crime report for Galax.
The FBI tracked cases of larceny in 4,555 U.S. cities with populations of at least 5,000 in 2019, and all but eight of those cities reported at least one larceny-theft that year. Of the 4,547 cities to report one or more incidents of larceny, Galax ranks No. 264 by larceny-theft rate, which puts it in the top 10% highest larceny rate U.S. cities.
Although larceny-theft is more common in Galax than it is nationwide, it is less common in Virginia than it is nationwide. There were a total of 116,044 cases of larceny reported in Virginia in 2019, or 1,360 for every 100,000 people. Of all 50 states, Virginia has the 18th lowest larceny rate.
The larceny-theft rate in Galax ranks as No. 5 of the 62 cities in Virginia tracked by the FBI.
Across the United States, larceny-theft contributes more to the overall property crime rate than any other type of offense. Partially because Galax’s larceny-theft rate is higher than the national average, the city’s overall property crime rate is too. There were a total of 4,035 property crimes reported for every 100,000 people in Galax in 2019, compared to 2,110 per 100,000 people nationwide.
It is important to note that in smaller cities, like Galax, which is home to just 6,320 people, even a handful of incidents of larceny-theft can drive up the larceny rate substantially. As a result, the larceny rate in Galax is more subject to year-over-year volatility compared to larger cities.
Larceny-theft is just one type of crime tracked by the FBI. To provide a more comprehensive view of overall crime levels across the country, 24/7 Wall St. recently published extensive crime reports with data visualizations for over 4,000 cities and all 50 states. These reports contain all components of property and violent crime tracked by the FBI. Click here to see the complete crime report for Galax here.
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