FBI Crime Stats: Where Wilmette, Kenilworth Stand

NEW TRIER TOWNSHIP, IL — New data show rates of both violent and property crimes fell in most New Trier area communities where data reported to the federal government was available. The FBI last week published the latest edition of its annual "Crime in the United States" report.

It found the reported number of violent crimes in the United States fell 3.9 percent compared to 2017. The property crime rate also dropped nearly 7 percent from 2017. Likewise, the number of violent and property crimes reported in Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth also fell. In Wilmette, violent crimes increased despite a decline in the property crime rate.

In Wilmette, there were 13 violent crimes — all aggravated assaults — in 2018, compared to two rapes and two aggravated assaults in 2017, according to law enforcement data collected by the FBI. The village's property crime rate fell by more than a third from 2017 to 2018.

In Winnetka, the number of violent crimes reported fell from seven in 2017 to just three last year, including two rapes and an aggravated assault. The number of property crimes decreased to 108 in 2018 from 144 the prior year, a 25 percent decline.

In Northfield, there were three violent crimes reported last year, one fewer than in 2017. The village also saw a slight decrease in property crimes, with 84 in 2017 and 82 in 2018.

In Kenilworth, there were no violent crimes last year, compared to a single robbery the year before. The number of property crimes fell to 15 from 24 the year before.

Crime statistics for Glencoe were not included in this year's FBI report, although representatives of the village's public safety department said the data were submitted in January.

The nationwide drop in violent crime represents the second straight annual decrease after increases in 2015 and 2016. The FBI estimated there were 368.9 violent crimes for every 100,000 Americans last year.

Across the municipalities in New Trier Township where 2018 data was available, the violent crime rate was just 39.6 per 100,000 residents, about 90 percent lower than the national average. Compared to its neighbors to the south, that's less than a quarter of Evanston's rate of violent crime and just 4 percent of Chicago's.

Nationwide, the murder rate last year was 5.0 per 100,000 people. With a single murder — the Aug. 13, 2018, fatal shooting of a Northfield attorney — and a population of just under 50,000, the rate was about 2.1 for New Trier Township communities where data were available.

Across the country, robbery fell 12 percent from 2017, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased by 6.2 percent, and aggravated assault dropped by a fraction of a percent.

Rape was the only violent crime to increase nationwide last year. There were 139,380 cases of rape reported in the U.S. in 2018, up from 135,666 in 2017. There were three rapes reported in New Trier area towns included in the FBI data for last year, up from two the prior year.

The FBI also estimated there were nearly 7.2 million property crimes across the United States in 2018. Property crimes include burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson, and all five of the categories saw a decrease from 2017.

That equates to a national rate of 2,362.2 property crimes per 100,000 people, a decrease of 6.9 percent from the 2017 estimated rate. The combined rate for New Trier Township communities was less than half of the national average, with 967.1 property crimes per 100,000 residents.

Other notable 2018 crime statistics for area communities in the FBI report:

• No robberies or incidents of arson were reported in Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield or Kenilworth
• There were 12 motor vehicle thefts in Wilmette, eight in Winnetka, five in Northfield and three in Kenilworth.
• Wilmette recorded 61 burglaries, Northfield had 19 burglaries, Winnetka had 15 and Kenilworth had five.

Notable nationwide findings:

• There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes across the country.
• Law enforcement made an estimated 10.3 million arrests in 2018 (excluding traffic violations) which is a slight decrease from 2017.
• The juvenile arrest rate fell 11 percent in 2018 over the 2017 rate.
• Victims of property crime, excluding arson, lost an estimated $16.4 billion in 2018.

The data used in the “Crime in the United States 2018” report was provided by more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies across the country.