Virginia State Police www.vsp.virginia.

gov
Media Release
News Release No. 11
For Immediate Release: June 2, 2016

VIRGINIAS ANNUAL CRIME ANALYSIS REPORT NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

RICHMOND Virginias official and only comprehensive report on local and statewide crime figures for 2015 is now
available online at the Virginia State Police Web site. The detailed document, titled Crime in Virginia, provides
precise rates and occurrences of crimes committed in towns, cities and counties across the Commonwealth. The
report breaks down criminal offenses by the reporting agency as well as arrests by jurisdiction.
The following 2015 crime figures within Virginia are presented in the report:
Virginia experienced less than a one percent increase in violent crime (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated
assault) compared to 2014 (.61%). The FBIs nationwide figures for 2015 are not yet available.
Property crime, including burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft, decreased from the previous year (-2.2%).
The FBIs nationwide figures for 2015 are not yet available.
The number of reported homicides increased from 337 to 382 or an increase of 13.4 percent. Based on the
ages reported, victims tended to be older than offenders; 17.6 percent of homicide victims were 50 years of age
or older, while 10.3 percent of offenders were 50 years of age or older.
Motor vehicle thefts and attempted thefts increased 7.4 percent compared to the previous year. Of the 8,188
motor vehicles stolen, 4,722 or 58 percent were recovered. Of all motor vehicles stolen, buses had the highest
frequency of being recovered (100%). Trucks and automobiles were next most likely to be recovered (69.2%,
65.1%, respectively). Recreational and other motor vehicles (motorcycles, mopeds, snowmobiles, etc.) were
least likely to be recovered (44.8%, 35.5%). Four out-of-ten (41.5%) of all motor vehicles were reported stolen
from the residence/home. The value of all motor vehicles stolen was $82,164,291, while the value recovered
was $39,325,490 (47.9%).
Drug and narcotic offenses showed virtually no increase compared to 2014 (.03%). This is in contrast to
previous reporting periods where increases were noted (2014-2013, 2.5%; 2013-2012, 3.8%; 2012-2011, 9.4%;
2011-2010, 7.1%).
Fraud offenses increased by 7 percent when compared to 2014.
Of the 886 arsons and attempted arsons that were reported, nearly half (47.6%) reported the location as
residence/home. About half of the victims were male and half female (53.6% male, 46.4% female), Of all
offenders, over three-quarters were male (76.8%).
Robbery increased 3.4 percent. Of the 4,313 robberies and attempted robberies, one-third (32.9%) took place
between 8 pm. and midnight. The days of the week showed little variability in terms of the number of robberies
that took place.
Of the weapons reported for violent crimes, firearms were the most frequently used in homicides (73.5%) and
robberies (57.1%) followed by aggravated assaults (25.4%).
There were 155 hate crimes reported in 2015. Almost two-thirds (62.5%) were racially or ethnically motivated.
Bias toward religion and sexual orientation were next highest (14.8%, 14.2%, respectively). The remaining 8.4
percent reported was attributed to a bias against a victims physical or mental disability. The offense of assault
was associated with almost half (45.8%) of all reported bias motivated crimes while
destruction/damage/vandalism of property was associated with 31.6 percent of all reported bias motivated
crimes.
The report employs an Incident Based Reporting (IBR) method for calculating offenses, thus allowing for greater
accuracy. IBR divides crimes into two categories: Group A for serious offenses including violent crimes (murder,
forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault), property crimes and drug offenses, and Group B for what are
considered less serious offenses such as trespassing, disorderly conduct, bad checks and liquor law violations
where an arrest has occurred.

Regional Media Contacts

Statewide
(804)674-2789

Richmond
(804)553-3494

Culpeper
(540)829-7713

Appomattox
(434)352-7128

Wytheville
(276)228-3131

Chesapeake
(757)424-6827

Salem/Roanoke
(540)375-9598

Find VSP on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/VirginiaStatePolice

Fairfax
(804)674-2789

Virginia State Police www.vsp.virginia.gov

Media Release
For Group A offenses, between 2014 and 2015, adult arrests in Virginia decreased 5.0 percent. Juvenile arrests for
Group A offenses decreased 11.6 percent statewide during the same period of time. For Group B arrests, there was
a decrease of 8.7 percent for adults while juvenile Group B arrests decreased 15.7 percent. For both Group A and
Group B offenses, there was a total of 305,648 arrests in 2014 compared to 282,422 arrests in 2015, representing a
decrease of 7.6 percent.
Per state mandate, the Department of Virginia State Police serves as the primary collector of crime data from
participating Virginia state and local police departments and sheriffs offices. The data are collected by the Virginia
State Police Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division via a secured internet system. This information is
then compiled into Crime in Virginia, an annual report for use by law enforcement, elected officials, media and the
general public. These data become the official crime statistics for the Commonwealth and are sent to the FBI who
modifies and incorporates them in their annual report, Crime in the United States.
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Regional Media Contacts

Statewide
(804)674-2789

Richmond
(804)553-3494

Culpeper
(540)829-7713

Appomattox
(434)352-7128

Wytheville
(276)228-3131

Chesapeake
(757)424-6827

Salem/Roanoke
(540)375-9598

Find VSP on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/VirginiaStatePolice

Fairfax
(804)674-2789