Oct. 28 Presentation to Focus on Criminal Victimization Study

October 21, 1999

MIDDLETOWN, Pa-In 1998, reported crimes of all types increased by 5.1 percent in Pennsylvania

according to the 1998 Uniform Crime Report published by the Pennsylvania State Police. Some

of the year's increase was attributed to a change in the Philadelphia Police Department's

reporting system. If Philadelphia is excluded, the Commonwealth experienced an increase of

0.8 percent in reported crimes for that year.

The Pennsylvania State Data Center is sponsoring a free noontime lecture to facilitate

discussion on the criminal victimization experiences of Pennsylvanians. Dr. Barbara Sims,

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Public Affairs at Penn State

Harrisburg, will be summarizing the preliminary findings of a statewide random survey

conducted in the summer and fall of 1999 asking Pennsylvanians to share their criminal

victimization experiences. Young people between the ages of 12 and 17 were included in the

survey in an effort to measure crimes against Pennsylvania's youth.

"Although preliminary in nature, findings from the Pennsylvania Crime Victimization Survey

will yield such information as: (1) characteristics of the crime incident; (2)

characteristics of the victim; and, (3) characteristics of the offender," says Dr. Sims.

"There is some evidence that the picture we get of crime using data from the FBI's Uniform

Crime Reports may be somewhat distorted. This is due primarily to the fact that the 16,000

or so state and local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. report only those crimes known

to police and for which an arrest was made. Crime victimization surveys provide a different

method for measuring crime and can, as argued by some, give us a look at the "dark figure of

crime," or those crimes that are not reported to the police."

Dr. Sims's presentation will be held Oct. 28 at the Penn State Downtown Center located at

234 North Third Street in Harrisburg from noon to 1:00 p.m. All lectures sponsored by the

State Capital Office of the Pennsylvania State Data Center are free and open to the public.

Attendees are asked to pre-register to ensure adequate seating. To register, call

(717) 948-6696 or email PaSDC-Reserve@psu.edu.

Background: Violent crimes include murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape,

robbery and aggravated assault. Each day, in 1998, an average of 131 violent crimes were

reported to Pennsylvania police departments. Reported violent crime was up 5 percent from

the previous year.

During 1998, there were a total of 605 reported murders in Pennsylvania-a decline of 12.2

percent from 1997. During 1998, 562 persons were arrested for murder in the Commonwealth.

Philadelphia had the greatest number of murders at 338 followed by Allegheny (64),

Delaware (19), Lehigh (18), Montgomery (17), and Berks (16). Philadelphia cleared 74.6

percent of its murders while Allegheny cleared 90.6 percent, Delaware cleared 63.2 percent,

Lehigh cleared 44.4 percent, Montgomery cleared 76.5 percent, and Berks cleared 87.5 percent.

There were a total of 3,030 forcible rapes reported in the Commonwealth in 1998-an increase

of 1.8 percent from 1997. Persons arrested for forcible rape totaled 1,327 in 1998 in

Pennsylvania. Philadelphia had 752 rapes in that year followed by Allegheny (359),

Delaware (128), Montgomery (115), and Bucks (102). Percentages of rape cases cleared were

53.3 percent, 63.2 percent, 65.6 percent, 53.9 percent, and 42.2 percent, respectively.

Commonwealth police departments received 19,102 robbery reports in 1998, which was a 3.1

percent decrease from the previous year. A total of 7,153 persons were arrested for robbery in

the state in 1998. The total value of property stolen in reported robberies in that year was

$10.8 million with an average value per robbery of $563. Philadelphia led the state with the

most reported robberies in 1998 at 11,436 followed by Allegheny (2,099), Delaware (650),

Berks (554), and Montgomery (530). Percentages of robbery cases cleared for the aforementioned

counties were as follows: Philadelphia (24.8 percent), Allegheny (35.4 percent),

Delaware (36.2 percent), Berks (26.2 percent), and Montgomery (38.7 percent).

There were 25,101 incidents of aggravated assault reported in Pennsylvania in 1998. This figure

represents an increase of 13.1 percent from 1997. Aggravated assault arrests totaled 15,604 in

1998. Philadelphia had 8,704 reported incidents of aggravated assault and the led the state in

number of reported offenses in this category. Allegheny was second in the state in reported

aggravated assault offenses with 2,678 followed by Delaware County with 2,131. Clearance rates

in those counties were 48.8 percent, 68.6 percent, 56.2 percent, respectively.

There are several other offenses law enforcement includes in the Crime Index such as burglary,

larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. There were 59,855 burglaries report in the state

in 1998 which was an increase of 0.7 percent from the pervious year. In 1998, 11,167 persons were

arrested for burglary and the value of stolen property in 1998 burglaries totaled $72.9 million

with an average value per burglary of $1,218. Philadelphia had 15,438 reported burglaries in 1998

followed by Allegheny (6,613), Berks (2,674), Montgomery (2,674), and Lehigh (2,062). Burglary

clearance rates were 12.8 percent, 18.8 percent, 10.5 percent, 24.1 percent, and 18.5 percent,

respectively.

Larceny-thefts totaled 217,379 in the Commonwealth in 1998 and reflected an increase of 3.3 percent.

Some 44,152 persons were arrested in the state for larceny-theft in 1998 and a total of $126.3 million

worth of property was taken in this fashion at an average loss of $581 per incident. Philadelphia

led the state with 49,897 larceny-thefts followed by Allegheny (23,538), Montgomery (14,760),

Bucks (10,463), Delaware (9,770), and York (8,355). Philadelphia had a clearance rate of 15 percent

for its larceny-theft cases. Allegheny County's clearance rate was 19.7 percent while Montgomery

County's was 24.8 percent, Bucks County's was 19.6, Delaware County's was 28.6 percent, and York

County's was 27.9 percent.

Thefts of motor vehicles totaled 40,708 in the state in 1998--a decrease of 4.6 percent from 1997.

There were 7,205 persons arrested for motor vehicle theft in 1998 and approximately 62 percent of

the stolen vehicles were recovered in that year. Philadelphia has the highest incidence of motor

vehicle theft in the state at 19,524. Allegheny County was second at 4,602 and Delaware and

Montgomery counties were third and fourth at 2,155 and 2,091, respectively. Nine point seven percent,

25.8 percent, 21.1 percent, and 21.1 percent were the clearance rates for Philadelphia, Allegheny,

Delaware and Montgomery counties, respectively.

A total of 5,458 arsons were reported in 1998 in the Commonwealth-a decrease of 3 percent. Nine

hundred and ninety-four arsonists were arrested in the state in 1998 and property damage totaled

$63.8 million for an average loss of $11,691 per arson incident in that year. Philadelphia had 512

arsons in 1998 while Allegheny had 397, Fayette had 193, and Delaware had 174. Thirty-one point one

percent of Philadelphia's arson incidents were cleared while 21.9 percent of Allegheny's, 20.7 percent

of Fayette's and 12.1 percent of Delaware's arson cases were cleared.

The Pennsylvania State Data Center is the Commonwealth's official source of population and economic

statistics and services. It is based at Penn State Harrisburg's Institute of State and Regional Affairs.

The Pennsylvania State Data Center is part of the U.S. Census Bureau's national State Data Center Program.

Editors: For additional data, contact Amy Jonas at the Data Center's State Capital Office, (717) 772-2710,

or for faculty comment on this topic contact the Penn State Harrisburg's Public Information Office, (717) 948-6029.

Source of Information: 1998 Uniform Crime Report

Accompany Map: Reported PA property crimes by county: 1998

Accompany Map: Reported PA violent crimes by county: 1998