56% of Utah voters responding to the statewide Utah Priorities Project survey rated crime as an important concern, ranking it at 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale. Their responses placed the issue at #7 on the top ten list of voter concerns for 2016.
At the same time, crime rates in Utah have steadily declined over the past couple of decades. A research brief published today by Utah Foundation cites statistics from the FBI and the Utah Department of Public Safety showing violent crime rates in Utah have dropped 34% from 1995 to 2014, compared to a national decrease of 45%.
There are some exceptions in the most recent data. Homicides were up by 10% in 2014, with 56 incidents of murder and non-negligent manslaughter. Rape was up 8% with 994 reported incidents, though it had been lower in previous years and did not exceed the 10-year average for that crime.
Aggravated assaults are the most frequent category of violent crime. Accordingly, this helps keep overall violent crime rates down since the 2014 per-person aggravated assault rate was 13% below the 10-year average.
The property crime rate is also substantially below the 10-year average – 10% overall, with the burglary rate 26% below average.
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