If you have issues viewing or accessing this file, please contact us at NCJRS.gov. Crime in Delaware 1992: An Analysis of Uniform Crime Data Prepared by the Statistical Analysis Center in Conjunction with the State Bureau of Identification STATE OF DELAWARE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT Statistical Analysis Center 60 The Plaza Dover, Delaware 19901 j: This report is supported in part by SAC Clearinghouse grant # 92-BJ-CX-K021 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and in part by the Edward Byrne Memorial Fund grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance) both Office of Justice Programs. The points of views expressed in this document do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Department of Justice. State of Delaware Document # 10-07-03-94-01-01. Crime in Delaware 1992: An Analysis of Uniform Crime Data March 1994 Prepared by: Jorge Rodriguez-Labarca, Research Specialist III Mary Ann Hughes, Research Specialist II Jack O'Connell, Director 149351 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating It. Points of view or opinions stated In this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been granted by Delaware Statistical Analysis Center/DOJ/OJP to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission 01 the copyright owner. Table of Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Crime in Delaware: 1992 Highlights ............................................................. 2 Delaware Part I Crime..................................................................................... 3 Violent Crime.............................. ........................................................... 3 Property Crime ...................................................................................... 15 Regional Crime Comparison ............................................................................ 21 illicit Drug Offenses ......................................................................................... 25 Juvenile Crime ................................................................................................. 33 Al'l'ests, Clearances and Demographic Rates ................................................. 39 Delaware At-Risk Population Estimates ....................................................... .47 Police Activity by Jurisdiction, 1988-1992 ...................................................... 49 Appendices ........................................................................................................ 69 A. Glossary of Terms ............................................................................ 70 B. DCR Crime Definitions ................................................................... 71 C. Technical Notes ................................................................................ 75 D. 1992 Arrests by Age, Sex and Race Tables .................................... 77 Introduction This report covers statewide crime data reported to local, state, and county police agencies in 1992. It is divided into the following sections: Delaware Part I Crime, including Violent and Property crime; Regional Crime Comparison; Illicit Drug Offenses; Juvenile Crime; Clearances and Arrests; Delaware Population Summary; and the Jurisdiction Report. In the appendix are located a Glossary of UCR Crime Definitions; Technical Notes; and the State Bureau of Identification's Arrests by Age, Sex, and Race Table. Each section begins with a brief; textual summary. Following are tables and graphs that detail the information. Usually, the more general information is presented first, followed by the more detailed information. For example, in the Part I Crime section, overall Part I Crime is followed by the violent crime summary, which is followed by graphs for each violent crime: homicide, rape robbery, and aggravated assault. Part I property crime is in then presented after violent crime, with its detail following the overall property crime graph. The Juvenile Crime section is new to Crime in Delaware 1992. We have compiled information on juvenile arrests since 1986 for Delaware and by county. The table at the end of the section contains arrests for particular crime categories. We hope this will help answer the many questions we receive about juvenile crime. The Statistical Analysis Center relies on the accurate reporting of information from all Delaware law enforcement agencies, as received from the Delaware State Police's State Bureau ofIdentification. Data inaccuracies and incomplete reporting will inevitably be reflected in this report. However, as updated information becomes available, it will be incorporated into future crime analysis reports. Once again, we would like to acknowledge the support and cooperation of Captain John W. Ford, Sharon Durham and Connie Moore of the State Bureau of Identification. Their thoughtful assistance and valuable insight were vital to the development of this report. Without the contribution of their work, this report would not be possible. Crime in Delaware: 1992 Highlights Crime in Delaware may have reached a new equilibrium. After a dip in the mid 1980s, followed by a rapid increase between 1989 and 1991, reported offenses have remained relatively constant between 1991 and 1992, returning to a level close to that of 1982. Of course, the 1993 crime reports will better indicate whether this is, indeed, an equilibrium. Both Part I and Part II crime levels have remained close to 1991 levels. In 1992, Part I offenses remained nearly the same as in 1991, showing a slight decrease of 1.8 percent, to 39,561 offenses. In 1991, 40,276 offenses were reported to police; The crime rate per thousand population for Part I crime was 58.2 in 1992. In 1991, the crime rate was 59.9 per thousand. 1992 Part II offenses increased slightly to 130,757, hardly an increase (0.6 percent) from the 129,950 Part II offenses reported in 1992. The Part II crime rate was 192.5 per thousand in 1992; in 1991, it was 193.2. Violent Crime Violent crime remained fairly even from 1983 to 1986, hovering about 2,700 offenses. Violent crime rose steadily between 1987 to 1991, then seems to have leveled off in 1992: 4,886 offenses were reported in 1991 and 5,004 violent offenses were reported in 1992, an increase of 2.4 percent. By violent crime: homicide and robbery went down from the previous year; reported rape and aggravated assaults were up. There were 36 homicides in 1992; 40 occurred in 1991. Robbery decreased 9.6 percent in 1992, dropping from 1452 in 1991 to 1313 in 1992. Reported rapes went up slightly to 605; there were 595 reported rapes in 1991. Aggravated assaults rose 9.0 percent in 1992 to 3050, up from 2799 in 1991. Violent crime in New Castle and Sussex counties changed very little, down 2.3 percent and up 1.2 percent, respectively; whereas, violent crime in Kent County increased 25.2 percent from 1991 to 1992: from 723 to 905 offenses. Illicit Drug Crime After decreasing in 1986 to 2959 offenses, Delaware drug offenses increased in 1987 through 1991 from 3,596 to 6,889. Then in 1992, drug offenses dropped to 6235, a decrease of 9.5 percent. Reported drug offenses dropped in both New Castle and Kent counties, by 8.6 and 20.8 percent, respectively. In Sussex County, drug offenses remained the same: 1,074 in 1991 and 1,073 in 1992. 2 Delaware Part I Crime Part I crime includes serious, commonly occurring crimes, which are divided into the categories of violent crime ~U1d property crime. Violent crime consists of homicide (including non-negligen1t manslaughter), forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The property crimes are larceny, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In this section, violent crime is first depicted in detail, followed by property crimes. Overall, Part I offenses in 1992 leveled off at 39,561, comparable to the 40,276 offenses that occurred in 1991: a difference of 715. When considered per thousand population,· the Part I crime rate for Delaware shows a slight decrease: 58.2 per thousand in 1992 versus 59:9 per thousand in 1991. Part I crime remained about the same between 1991 and 1.992 in all three counties. There was a slight decrease in Part I offenses in New Castle County, and slight increases in Kent and Sussex counties, with Kent having the greatest rate of increase. Part I offenses decreased slightly in New Castle County to 26,823 in 1992, as compared to 28,136 in 1991: a decrease of 1,313 or 2.9 per thousand population. Kent County reported 6,417 Part I crimes in 1992, up from the 5,969 of 1991: a difference of 448, or 3.9 per thousand. In Sussex County 6,321 Part I offenses were reported in 1992, 150 more than the 6,171 reported in 1991, an increase of 1.3 per thousand. Violent Crime Over the past decade, violent crime first decreased, then remained stable, and in the last 5 years increased sharply. Violent crime decreased from 1982 to 1983, then maintained a low plateau of about 2,750 reported offenses through 1986. Violent crime began increasing again in 1987, with more rapid increases occurring between 1988 and 1990, increases of 19.2 and 16.8 percent per year, respectively. The rate of increase slowed somewhat in 1991 and 1992. The 1992 reported number of