Morgantown’s 2018 crime rate fell below the state and national average, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“These numbers reflect the vigilance of both the citizens of the community and the Morgantown Police Department, and their persistence of keeping crime down and the community safe,” said city police Chief Ed Preston. “It’s something we should all be proud of.”
The FBI released its yearly Uniform Crime Report this week, which showed Morgantown is one of the safest cities in West Virginia, according to Preston.
The United States averages 35 violent crimes per 1,000 people while West Virginia averages 4.2, according to the report. Morgantown comes in at just 2.6 violent crimes per 1,000, with an average of no murders, 0.032 rapes, 0.194 robberies and 2.11 assaults.
Morgantown is also below the national and state average in property crimes, according to the report.
Nationally, there is an average of 241 property crimes per 1,000 residents, with 40 burglaries and 180 larcenies.
West Virginia has an average rate of 28.7 property crimes, 4.76 burglaries and 21.43 larcenies per 1,000 people, while Morgantown had an average of 16.23 property crimes with 2.76 and 12.53 reports of burglaries and larcenies.
As a comparison, Wheeling, with 4,000 less people than Morgantown, according to the FBI, had 229 violent crimes compared to Morgantown’s 82. Morgantown did have more larceny reports than Wheeling — 386 compared to 219, but some crimes are more prevalent in certain areas.
South Charleston, with a population of 12,357, for example, had 503 larcenies.
Charleston, the largest city in the state with a population of 47,470, according to the FBI, had the most violent crimes and property crimes reported with 331 and 2,853 respectively.
The UCR is the national repository for crime data collected by law enforcement agencies and its goal is to provide reliable information for use in law enforcement administration, operation and management, according to Preston.
The MPD posts statistics each month on its website, showing the number of calls received by the department, a breakdown of what those calls were for and a 10-year comparison.
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