Although crime rates are down statewide, the N.C. Attorney General’s office reported last week that property crime is on the rise in Ashe County.

According to the North Carolina Department of Justice’s 2008 Annual Crime Summary, the state’s total crime index is down 2.2 percent from 2007. The overall rate of crime index is measured per 100,000 people. These statistics are compiled through data collected by the State Bureau of Investigation through the North Carolina Uniform Crime Reporting Program, part of a nationwide effort administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Violent crime rates of 100,000 people statewide decreased 1.3 percent while robbery – a separate category of violent crime- rose 2.2 percent, the report showed.

Despite the increase in the number of robberies, crime rates in three other violent crime categories fell in 2008. Murders, statewide, are down 3.5 percent, rapes have seen a drop off from the previous year by 6.3 percent and aggravated assaults are down by 2.7 percent. Motor vehicle thefts decreased by 7 percent statewide and the rate of reported arsons was down by 6.8 percent in 2008.

The index crime rate per 100,000 people in Ashe County for 2008 was 2,042.1, an increase over last year’s crime rate of 1,784.7. The property crime rate in Ashe per 100,000 residents was measured at 1,942.1 in 2008, an increase over last year’s rate of 1,652.8. Property crime, as defined by the 2008 ACS, encompasses the criminal acts of burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Despite the increase in the county’s total crime index, violent crimes have fallen off compared to 2007. This past year, the violent crime rate was 100.0 per 100,000 Ashe Countians, a decrease from the 2007 rate of 131.9. Violent crimes are defined by the report of crimes including the acts of murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Vance County had the state’s highest total crime index rate, 8,085.7, while neighboring Alleghany County recorded the state’s lowest crime rate, 532.1.

To view the N.C. 2008 ACS, please visit www.ncdoj.com and click on the ‘News Releases and Advisories’ link under the ‘News and Alerts’ tab.