The KBI released its crime report for 2018 that shows a rise in violent crime across the state.
From 2017 to 2018 Kansas saw a %10.9 rise is rape cases and %7.8 spike in aggravated assault and battery cases. Overall violent jumped %5, to 4.2 cases per 1,000 people. While overall violent crime was up, the murder rate dropped %17, to 146 cases. 2018 also saw fewer robberies compared to 2017.
Overall property crimes saw a %2 drop, especially in burglaries. Car thefts are on the rise though, and they have been for the past four years.
The KBI provided the following chart to summarize crime rates over the past few years.
You can also view the full KBI Kansas Crime Index for 2018. It further breaks down data by county and city, showing that Sedgwick County does have the highest violent crime rate compared to population, at 9.7 crimes per 1,000 people. The Russell County Sheriff’s Office saw the highest violent crime rate per department, with 12 per 1,000. Wichita’s rate was 11.8.
The report includes university police and shows the KU Med Center had the overall highest crime rate at 76.3 crimes per 1,000 people. This appears to come from a lot of thefts, which are not classified as violent.
