Property crime is a broad category of offenses comprising three subcategories: burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. A total of 6.9 million property crimes were committed in the United States in 2019 — or 2,110 for every 100,000 people.
Though property crime offenses are not as severe as violent crime offenses, such as aggravated assault or robbery, their impact on victims can be substantial. An estimated $14.3 billion worth of personal property — from clothing and jewelry to firearms and motor vehicles — were stolen in the United States in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, certain forms of property crime have spiked. According to a recent study from the University of Pennsylvania, car thefts are up considerably in major cities around the country. And while home burglaries are down, commercial retailers are reporting a substantial spike in burglary cases.
In Van Wert, Ohio, property crime is far more common than it is nationwide. In 2019, the most recent year of available data, there were a total of 336 property crimes reported in the city — or 3,151 for every 100,000 people. Click here to see the full crime report for Van Wert.
The FBI tracked property crime in 4,543 U.S. cities with populations of at least 5,000 in 2019 — and nearly all of those cities reported at least one property crime that year. Of those 4,537 cities that reported one or more incidents of property crime, Van Wert ranks No. 816 by property crime rate, which puts it in the top 25% highest property crime U.S. cities.
Although property crime is more common in Van Wert than it is nationwide, property crime is about as common in Ohio as it is nationwide. A total of 240,291 property crimes were reported in Ohio in 2019, or 2,056 for every 100,000 people. Of all 50 states, Ohio has the 24th lowest property crime rate.
The property crime rate in Van Wert ranks as No. 39 of the 235 cities in Ohio for which the FBI has data.
Across the United States, larceny-theft is the most common form of property crime. Of the 6.9 million property crimes committed in the U.S. in 2019, about 73% were incidents of larceny-theft. In Van Wert, larceny-theft accounted for 79% of all reported violent crimes in 2019.
Of the three types of property crime, burglary ranks the highest on the FBI’s hierarchy of crime severity. In Van Wert, a city of about 10,660 residents, there were 63 burglaries reported in 2019, or 591 for every 100,000 people. The national burglary rate stands at 341 incidents for every 100,000 people.
Property crimes are just one component of crime in an area. 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. Click here to see the complete crime report for Van Wert here.
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