SPOKANE, Wash. – Property crime in Spokane fell across almost all categories in 2018 compared to 2017, but violent crime was up nearly 14 percent, according to a new report released by the Spokane Police Department.
The preliminary citywide crime report shows how many of each type of crimes were reported between Jan. 1 – Dec. 22, 2018 compared to the same time period in 2017. A total of 1,488 violent crimes and 17,067 property crimes were reported in Spokane this year.
Nearly all types of property crime were down this year compared to last. Overall, property crime dropped by about 4 percent.
Arson saw the biggest statistical drop – about 19 percent, from 59 reported arsons in 2017 to 48 in 2018. Residential burglaries were down more than 10 percent, from 1,252 to 1,122, and larcenies (property theft without breaking into a home or car) were down about 2.5 percent, from 12,794 to 12,480.
Meanwhile, violent crime rose by nearly 14 percent. The highest jump was for criminal homicide, which nearly doubled as there were 9 homicides this year compared to last. Rapes rose by 23 percent, with 303 rapes reported this year compared to 246 in 2017. Domestic violence assaults also rose by about 23 percent.
The only area of violent crime that was lower in 2018 versus 2017 was commercial robbery, with 79 robberies this year compared to 87 last year.
The police department also broke down crime data by city region: North, South and Downtown.
In the North precinct, where the majority of Spokane’s crimes were reported, crime statistics actually rose both for violent crimes (15 percent) and property crimes (3 percent).
The south precinct saw a 21 percent jump in violent crime this year compared to last, while property crimes fell by about 17 percent.
The downtown precinct, which is tiny geographically compared to the other precincts, saw a 45 percent increase in violent crime and a 2 percent decrease in property crime.
