BANGOR, Maine — The state released crime statistics Wednesday along with some good news: Crime in Maine is down — way down.
According to a statement from Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland, crime throughout the state decreased 14.9 percent in 2014, the largest drop in the 40 years Maine has compiled detailed statistics.
The 27,987 crimes reported in 2014 represent a crime rate of 21 offenses per 1,000 people in Maine. That number compares with the national crime rate of 32 offenses per 1,000 population in 2013.
The total number of adults and juveniles summoned or cited by police decreased in 2014 for the sixth year in a row. Adult arrests dropped 2.4 percent in 2014 (43,957 arrests in 2014 versus 45,040 for 2013). The number of juveniles arrested or summoned decreased by 14 percent last year (3,926 juveniles arrested/summoned in 2014 versus 4,571 in 2013). Juvenile arrests have decreased in four of the past five years.
Coupled with a decrease of 9.1 percent in 2013, crime in Maine has fallen 25 percent in the last two years, according to the statement.
According to Public Safety Commissioner John Morris, crimes tabulated by the Uniform Crime Reporting division decreased last year, with similar decreases reported in 2013 with the exception of aggravated assault.
“The past two years of decreasing crime numbers is encouraging, but also tempered with the growing drug abuse issue that all Maine law enforcement faces,” Morris said in the statement.
Despite the fact that the overall crime numbers are down, drug arrests throughout the state increased in 2014, with approximately 5,801 in 2014 compared with 5,599 in 2013.
“As hopeful as the numbers are, drugs are still the driving force for most of the crime in Maine,” Morris said.
Maine law enforcement continues to see significant abuse of prescription drugs and heroin, along with an increase of out-of-state drug dealers.
According to the statement, aggravated assaults dropped 4.6 percent in 2014, while simple assaults were down 6.5 percent.
Burglaries saw a significant decrease, with a 22.4 percent dropoff, while robberies decreased by 9.3 percent and motor vehicle thefts by 11.8 percent. Approximately 796 vehicle thefts were reported in Maine in 2014, compared with 902 in 2013.
Maine law enforcement investigated 22 homicides in 2014, three fewer than 2013, while domestic violence assaults decreased by 7.7 percent and rape decreased by 0.8 percent.
Approximately 5,487 domestic assault cases were investigated last year and 356 rape cases reported last year.
Arson saw a significant decrease — 29 percent — during 2014, with 99 reported incidents compared with 140 in 2013. In addition, the value of property damaged by arson fires decreased 64.7 percent last year ($1,096,455 in 2014 versus $3,104,919 in 2013).
Crime in the state’s rural areas showed an overall decrease of 16.7 percent, while crime in the cities and towns went down 11.9 percent.
In the rural areas, patrolled by Maine State Police and sheriff’s departments, crimes went down in every category except one additional case of robbery (39 robberies for 2014 versus 38 in 2013).
In the cities and towns, the only crime category to show an increase was rape, with six additional cases reported in 2014 (280 rapes in 2014 versus 274 in 2013).
The Uniform Crime Reporting Division at the Maine Department of Public Safety tabulates the crime numbers each year. The numbers are based on reported crimes from local, county and state law enforcement agencies. The UCR statistics show that 27,987 crime index offenses were reported to police during 2014, compared with 32,162 during 2013, for a crime rate decrease of 14.9 percent.
The value of property stolen during 2014 was $21,239,896 compared with $31,165,246 in 2013. Police recovered $5,191,038 in stolen property during 2014 for a recovery rate of 24.4 percent.
The crime rate for violent crime in Maine continues to be one offense per 1,000 population, compared with the national average of four per 1,000 population.
