The overall crime rate of Iowa is relatively low, and people usually don’t feel threatened as a rule, let alone in comparison to the rest of the United States. But, even in Iowa crime happens, and thus is significant to study the crime rate and the trends in the hope of addressing public safety concerns and lessening crime. In this blog post, we will explore the Iowa crime rate and the different types of crime that are classified both as violent and property crimes and attempt to provide insight into some trends and analysis of the data.

Overall Crime Rates

For four years Iowa has registered below the national average in terms of violent and property crime counts on the FBI's crime index. Iowa's 2020 violent crime rate of 285 per 100,000 people is well below the national average of 387 per 100,000 Americans. Iowa's property crime rate in 2020 was below the national average of 2,200 per 100000 with 1,961 per 100000 state population.

Iowa had far higher rates of violent and property crimes many decades ago than it does today. Over the 2000–2020 decade, the property crime rate has decreased by 44%; the violent crime rate has decreased by 48%. Consequently, Iowa's crime rate has kept low by comparing it with that of the whole nation, which has also dropped accordingly.

Violent Crime in Iowa

Though Iowa's violent crime rate is low, knowledge of the kind of violent crime might be helpful in the development of laws and further studies. Murders, forced rape, robbery, and aggravated assaults define violent crime.

Surprisingly consistent and ranging between 1.2 and 2.3 per 100,000 residents, Iowa's murder rate over the last two decades has remained very constant. Better definitions and reporting of these crimes help to explain why the rates of rape, robbery, and assault are lower now than they were in 2000.

Concerns have arisen in terms of domestic violence patterns in the state of Iowa. Physical violence in the home has risen in proportion to other violent incidents, having gone up from less than 30% of other aggravated assault cases in 2000 to over 50% in current years. In implementing the strategies and goals of IPS, combating and preventing domestic and intimate partner violence must be a core area of emphasis in public safety in Iowa communities.

Property Crime Analysis

But in terms of the financial loss and overall criminal activity incidence, property crimes rule in the state of Iowa. Among the many primary forms of property crimes are theft, theft from motor vehicles, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Although property crime is somewhat rare in Iowa, larceny theft, and burglary account for most of this kind of crime there. We are at 1960s levels; burglary peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s and has been on a fall to present levels. Though typically on a climb and decline, larceny is relatively modest in comparison to its peak.

Crimes related to motor vehicles were relatively high in the 80s and 90s, and it has been reduced back greatly in the last two decades. Forces that were present in the earlier years of cars could be associated with the absence of anti-theft technology on most of the cars. Arson falls under the category of property crime and it has been reported that it has been occurring 20 times per 100000 residents in Iowa as of 2020. Again similar to violence, property crime has also reduced each year in the past decade and the current trends depict the same.

Influence of Crime on the Iowa Populace

All the rates of criminality, regardless of the category they belong to, have significantly decreased in the state of Iowa within the past two or three decades. Criminology experts cite several potential reasons for declining crime statewide and nationally during this period, which likely also apply to Iowa:

Aging population: Starting in the 80s and 90s, as the baby boom generation entered middle adulthood, a large proportion of high-crime adolescents and young adult age cohort decreased relative to population size.

Private security growth: The popularity of home security systems, car alarms, and other security measures that deter thieves turned into popular trends in the '90s and 2000s.

Cell phones & internet: Pervasiveness and awareness from smart mobile devices could act as the protective mechanism against crime. Some of the advancements including Surveillance cameras have also increased enormously.

Policing tactics: Iowa has enhanced the practice of community policing by focusing on community relations and problem-solving. As for the specific police departments in Iowa, several of them have also integrated intelligence-led policing models as well.

It is clear that crime has indeed reduced significantly all over the state of Iowa; however, there is a need to ensure that crime problems and rates in the Iowa communities remain the focus of law enforcement agencies in the future. Violence against women, drugs, and firearms crimes must remain of top concern for Iowa police and lawmakers to further improve everyone’s security. Knowledge of current issues will be improved through crime analysis, and, thus, improve the chances of creating positive solutions.