RICHMOND — Virginia State Police (VSP) announced the commonwealth’s official comprehensive report on local and statewide crime figures for 2022, “Crime in Virginia,” is now publicly available on the Virginia State Police CJIS Data Analysis and Reporting Team page.
According to VSP, the report provides precise rates and occurrences of crimes committed in towns, cities and counties across the commonwealth, as well as breaking down criminal offenses and arrests by reporting agency.
VSP said the violent crime rate — murder, forcible sex offenses, robbery and aggravated assault — increased in 2022. A total of 17,655 violent crime offenses were reported compared to 16,823 vin 2021, a 4.9% increase.
VSP notes the following crime figures are presented in the report:
- The number of reported homicides increased from 562 to 621 (10.5%). The murder/non-negligent manslaughter rate increased from 6.49 in 2021 to 7.14 in 2022 (per 100,000 population). Victims and offenders tended to be younger males; 42.7% of homicide victims were men between 18 and 34 and 52.2% of known offenders were men between 18 and 34. Slightly over half (52.1%) of all homicides occurred at a residence/home.
- Motor vehicle thefts and attempted thefts increased 21.9% compared to 2021. During 2022, there were 14,185 motor vehicles reported stolen in 13,651 offenses. In 2022, 8,337 motor vehicles were recovered (vehicles may have been stolen prior to 2022). Of all motor vehicles stolen, 33.9% were taken from the residence/home. The reported value of all motor vehicles stolen was $201,069,627.
- Drug arrests decreased by 8.8%; however, there was an increase in the number of arrestees under 18 years old.
- Burglary increased by 3.8% between 2021 and 2022, the first increase in burglaries and attempted burglaries in over a decade. In 2021, there were 10,464 burglaries and attempted burglaries whereas in 2022 there were 10,860.
- Fraud offenses increased 9.9% compared to 2021. Over three-quarters of victims were individuals (77.8%) and 13.6% were businesses. Nearly a quarter (22.5%) of fraud victims were over the age 65.
- Of the known weapons reported for violent crimes, firearms were used in 81.6% of homicides and 44.6% of robberies. Firearms were used in more than one-third (37.5%) of aggravated assault cases.
- There were 182 hate crime incidents, involving 189 offenses with 166 individual victims reported by contributing agencies in 2022. The remaining hate crimes include victims that are categorized as Businesses or Religious Organizations. Hate crimes increased by 48% compared to 2021.
- Most hate crimes (64.6%) were racially or ethnically motivated. Bias toward sexual orientation and religion were next highest (21.5%, 9.2%, respectively). Of all reported bias-motivated crimes, 75.1% were assault offenses (aggravated assault, simple assault) or destruction/damage/vandalism of property.
The report employs an Incident-Based Reporting (IBR) method for calculating offenses, thus allowing for greater accuracy, it said. IBR divides crimes into two categories: Group A for serious offenses including violent crimes, property crimes and drug offenses, and Group B for less serious offenses such as trespassing, disorderly conduct, and liquor law violations.
Per state mandate, the Department of Virginia State Police notes it serves as the primary collector of crime data from participating Virginia state and local police departments and sheriff’s offices. The data in the report becomes the official crime statistics for the commonwealth and are sent to the FBI for incorporation into its annual report, “Crime in the United States.”
