Crime in Maine decreased for the fifth straight year in 2016, but drug use continues to fuel much of the state’s criminal behavior, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Statistics released Wednesday showed crime dropped 8.7 percent from 2015 to 2016.
“The fifth consecutive drop in crime is encouraging, but drugs are still the driving force behind most crime in Maine,” Public Safety Commissioner John Morris said Wednesday in a news release. “Drugs still affect all Maine law enforcement, with much of the drugs coming into Maine from out of staters affiliated with gangs.”
The 119-page report showed that 23,748 crimes were reported to police last year compared to 26,000 in 2015.
Gov. Paul LePage noted that Maine’s crime rate remained low compared to other states and praised law enforcement officers for their efforts in a press release issued late Wednesday afternoon.
“Maine continues to be one of the safest states in the country. Unfortunately, the flow of deadly drugs from out of state is still driving crime in Maine,” he said. “Local and state police are putting their lives on the line for us every day to fight these crimes. I want to thank all of our law enforcement officials for the work they do to keep us safe.”
The numbers reflect crimes reported, not individuals charged by police with a crime or those ultimately convicted of the charges. The Maine court system does not track conviction rates.
While crime fell overall, several categories of illegal incidents rose from 2015. Arson saw the largest percent increase, rising nearly 130 percent, from 91 cases reported in 2015 to 209 in 2016. State police, the agency responsible for compiling crime statistics, attributed the uptick to a new reporting system implemented by the state fire marshal’s office, the release said.
That office, instead of police departments, will be the sole reporting agency for arsons.
Aggravated assault, which involves serious injury and usually a weapon, increased nearly 10 percent. There were 1,002 aggravated assaults last year, compared to 916 in 2015.
Cases of reported rape rose nearly three percent, with 10 more rapes reported in 2016 than the previous year, when 373 were reported.
Hate crimes also increased, up 5 percent. Police reported 40 incidents in 2016 compared to 38 incidents in 2015. The most commonly reported “bias motivation” was racial, largely “anti-black,” followed by religious, sexual orientation and ethnicity.
The vast majority of hate crimes, nearly 74 percent, involved harassment or vandalism. The most frequent locations of hate crimes were schools or colleges, followed by residences and roadways. Nearly 60 percent of the offenders were white, while more than 35 percent were not known.
Crime was down in all other categories in 2016, including homicides. Police investigated 18 murders last year compared to 23 in 2015. The biggest percentage drops were in robberies and burglaries, which fell 14.5 and 14.6 percent, respectively.
Maine’s rate of crime remains well below the national average. The state’s crime rate was 18 criminal incidents per 1,000 residents in 2016, compared to 29 offenses per 1,000 people nationally.
Steven Barkan, a sociologist at the University of Maine, said Wednesday that crime has dropped steadily throughout the nation since the 1990s but the reasons why are unclear.
“Criminologists don’t really know why,” he said. “I tell my students not to leave Maine because they are safe here.”