City data: Seattle crime numbers rise steadily with population
Seattle's total reported crime numbers rose at about the same rate its population did last year, according to data from the city.
In 2018 the city had the second highest number of reported crimes in a year since they started recording it by neighborhood in 2008. Parsed between "personal" and "property" crimes, there were 43,312 reported.
There was a 2.14 percent increase from 2017 to 2018; by comparison, between 2016 and 2017 crime reports saw a decrease of 0.4 percent. Seattle's population rose by almost 2.3 percent, according to population estimates by the city.
The list of personal crime included four types: homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crime also had four crimes, including theft, arson, burglary and theft of motor vehicles.
Between the two categories, personal crime had the biggest increase, a second-highest rate of 8.13 percent. Reports of homicide, rape and aggravated assault all had the highest numbers since the data started in 2008.
The property crime rate remained relatively stable with an increase of 1.41 percent, but arson had a 36.27 percent decrease, the highest out of any crime.
The only year between 2008 and 2018 to record higher numbers that last year was 2014. The total number of reported crimes was 44,512, a 9.17 percent increase from 2013. Since then, two years -- 2015 and 2017 -- had decreases from the year before. The highest increase since 2014 was 2.2 percent in 2016.
Curious about your own neighborhood? Specific data is available in an interactive map here. Unsure in which of the almost 60 neighborhoods included you live in? The big names are there like Queen Anne and North Admiral, but what if your house is right on the edge of Hillman City? This link will tell you where the data for your address is.
The Seattle Police Department introduced its interactive map in 2016, along with a website for its Micro Community Policing Plans (MCPPs). Micro-policing in Seattle involved developing plans for individual neighborhoods based on perceived needs gathered from crime data. It was a priority of former-Chief Kathleen O'Toole when she took over in 2014.
Seattle's citywide stats, from January through December 2018:
- Homicide: 32
- Rape: 267
- Robbery: 1,691
- Aggravated assault: 2,698
- Arson: 102
- Burglary: 8,014
- Theft: 26,509
- Car theft: 3,999
Now see the numbers and priorities for your neighborhood. If you want to figure out which "micro community" you live in, enter your address at this link.
Read the story on SeattlePI.com
