(The Center Square) – The 2022 National Crime Statistics from the FBI show violent crime decreased in Iowa in 2022 compared to the previous year.
The rate of violent crimes per 100,000 people is 286.5 for 2022, compared to 291 in 2021, according to the report.
The statistics are based on reports from 228 of Iowa’s 279 law enforcement agencies. The 228 Iowa agencies are certified to report crime data, Rebecca Dyer, Iowa’s unified crime reporting manager told The Center Square in email.
“This means that although a law enforcement agency may exist and is active in addressing crime, they have not met the threshold criteria to be certified in providing that data on a state and national level,” Dyer said. “With that said, the data provided by the FBI is correct. Of the 279 law enforcement agencies across the state, only 228 are certified in reporting crime data which means only 228 were eligible to participate.”
The data showed the number of homicides reported to the state law enforcement officials dropped from 69 in 2021 to 48 in 2022. Rapes declined from 1,441 to 1,230 and robberies dropped from 691 to 621 in 2022, according to the FBI data.
Aggravated assaults in Iowa fell from 6,099 in 2021 to 5,594 in 2022. Most of the aggravated assaults occurred in residences, and more than half of the people who reported assaults-3,062-knew their attacker in some way, according to the report.
Iowa’s violent crime rate is less than the national rate, which was 380.7 per 100,000 people for 2022, down from 387 in 2021, a 1.7% drop.
Murders and non-negligent manslaughter in the U.S. decreased 6.1%, and rape was down 5.4%, according to the report.
