Researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage released a fact sheet Monday showing that property crimes decreased over a 30-year period ending in 2015.
The crimes – burglaries, larceny-thefts and vehicle thefts – were reported to law enforcement from 1986 to 2015, according to the fact sheet. All of those categories fell over the period, researchers found.
Over the time period, "the overall crime rate in Alaska decreased along with the property crime rate," a summary of the findings reads. Property crimes accounted for two-thirds of all crime in Alaska during that same time, the summary says.
Larceny-thefts made up nearly three-quarters of all property crimes, while burglary and vehicle thefts accounted for 17 percent and 10 percent, respectively, according to the data.
Here are some of the findings of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center:
* From 1986 to 2015, the rate of property crimes reported to police averaged 3,727.2 per 100,000 residents per year. Overall, the reported property crime rate in Alaska declined over the period, researchers said.
* The rate of burglaries reported to police over the same period averaged 647.5 per 100,000 residents per year. Again, the reported burglary rate in the state declined, the findings state.
* The rate of larceny-thefts reported to police over the same period averaged 2,705.5 per 100,000 residents per year. The rate declined over the period, according to the findings.
* The rate of motor vehicle theft reported to police over the same period averaged 374.2 per 100,000 residents per year. Overall, the reported motor vehicle theft rate in Alaska declined over the period, the findings conclude.
Arson is also included among the data submitted to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which the university researchers used to make its fact sheet. Estimates for arson were not included in the fact sheet because reporting on arson varies from agency to agency.
The university researchers released a similar fact sheet in November looking at homicides over the same period. They similarly found that homicide rates in Alaska decreased over the three decades examined – excluding the Municipality of Anchorage.
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