Preliminary Ohio Crime Statistics for 2007

On June 2, 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released the preliminary annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR) figures for 2007. Crime statistics show that, as a whole, law enforcement across the U.S. reported a 1.4 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention in 2007 compared to 2006 figures. The number of property crimes during the same time period decreased 2.1 percent when compared to 2006 figures.

Offenses included in the report are the violent crimes of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and the property crimes of burglary, larceny theft and motor vehicle theft. Data on arson are also reported, but are not included in the property crime subtotals. While the preliminary report does not include statewide data for Ohio, it contains data for Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus,
Dayton and Toledo.

The following is a brief review of crime in Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo. All data in this report are preliminary.

• Violent crime decreased from 2006 to 2007 in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton.
• Cleveland was the only city to report an increase in murder in 2007. Double-digit decreases were found in Akron (-18%), Cincinnati (-31%), Dayton (-31%) and Toledo (-63%).
• Forcible rape increased in Akron, Cincinnati and Columbus.
• Robbery decreased 16 percent in Cincinnati. Decreases were also seen in Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo.
• Aggravated assaults increased in four of the six cities, with Akron reporting a 45 percent increase. Decreases were noted in Cleveland and Dayton.
• Property crime decreased in all six cities.
• Burglary decreased in four of the six cities, while Akron and Cincinnati reported slight increases. Larceny-theft decreased in five of the six cities. Cleveland reported a slight (3%) increase in motor vehicle theft.
• Decreases in arson were noted in Cincinnati and Toledo.