HOUSTON CRIME   RATE

With a crime rate of 50.36 incidents per 1,000 persons, Houston presents itself as one of the more dangerous cities in the state of Texas. The following graphs will explore that crime in detail by exploring the raw numbers of crime within the city and compare it with state and federal data. Maintaining a population of over 2.3 million residents, crime in Houston stands have a sizable impact on the total crime numbers in the state of Texas, as well as the United States as a whole. 

To gain a better picture as to just how much violent crime in Houston drives total crime rates, this graph examines the rate of violent crime per 1,000 residents at the city, state, and federal level. Whereas the Texas violent crime rate is slightly higher than the national rate, the Houston violent crime rate is over twice the national rate at 10.26 incidents per 1,000 residents. 

With violent crime in Houston representing a major problem, perhaps it is best to drive down a little more into the details. This particular graph breaks down violent crime into 4 major categories which include murder, rape, robbery, and assault. Whereas murder, rape and assault are fairly self-explanatory, it is help to note that robbery is an incident where property is taken using force or the threat of force. Robbery represents the largest statistical outlier between the city and state rates of crime. Houston witnesses a robbery rate of 3.74 incidents per 1,000 residents while the state sees 0.98 incidents per 1,000 residents. While Houston leads the state in all categories, the robbery rate is nearly 4 times the state rate.

Keeping in mind that Houston accounts for 0.72% of the total U.S. population, one can glean from these graphs that Houston violent crime continues to be a driver for total U.S. violent crime. It represents 1.70% of total U.S. murders and assaults while simultaneously, accounting for 3.11% of the nation’s robberies. Meanwhile, incidents of rape in Houston account for 0.90% which is closer to what Houston’s total population percentage would suggest.

When examining violent crime in Houston from 2017 to 2018, one can discern more detail as to the direction of crime in Houston. Violent crime in Houston was down across the board in Houston from 2017 to 2018 with the exception of murder. There was a total of 7 additional murders in 2018 while assault dropped by 500 incidents, robbery by 1,000 incidents and rapes by about 100 incidents.

Despite violent crime being a major problem in Houston, the city still leads the state and nation in incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents. The state of Texas witnesses incidents of property crime at the rate of 23.67 per 1,000 residents, which is not far above the national rate of 21.99 incidents. However, Houston continues to lead the way with 40.10 incidents per 1,000 residents.

This graph breaks down property crime by type into the three major categories of burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. Whereas property crime occurs at a rate higher than violent crime, Houston’s property crime is closer in line with the state numbers, though still higher. Both burglary and theft occur at below twice the state rate, which motor vehicle theft occurring at just over twice the state rate.

With Houston accounting for 0.72% of the total population, the city continues to be a driver for total U.S. property crime. Though not at the same high percentages as violent crime, Houston contributes more than its fair share of U.S. property crime. This includes accounting for 1.33% of all U.S. burglaries, 1.26% of thefts and 1.60 percent of incidents of motor vehicle theft.

Despite Houston’s struggle with crime, there is some encouraging news when comparing 2017 to 2018 side by side. Both incidents of burglary and theft declined from year to year while incidents of motor vehicle theft saw a modest increase. However, the proportion of crimes by type remains consistent with theft being the largest number of incidents of property crime.