Worcester crime going down: Which offenses are leading the trend?

Worcester crime going down: Which offenses are leading the trend?Photo: iStock
Hoodline
Published on August 16, 2019

The number of crime incidents in Worcester saw an overall decrease last week, after a previous rise, according to data from SpotCrime, which collects reports from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents fell to 808 for the week of Aug. 5, down from 940 the week before.

The specific offenses that decreased the most were assault and theft. Assault fell to 93 incidents last week, from 115 the week before. Theft went from 85 to 65. Reports of assault have continued to fall for the last two weeks.

While somewhat smaller categories, there was also a sizable percentage decrease in vandalism, from 28 incidents per week to 22, and in burglary, from 18 to 15 incidents.

Among the few types of offenses that saw an uptick last week, reports of robbery went from six to seven.

There were 606 reports of "other" crimes, a decrease of 82 from the previous week. SpotCrime's broad "other" category includes a variety of offenses like fraud, trespassing, public disturbance and traffic violations. Of those incidents, 70 involved arrests, such as for drug possession, down from 80 reported arrests the week before.

Regarding when most crimes are committed, Saturday, Sunday and Friday had the most reported crimes last week. The largest decrease from the previous week occurred on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, while incidents on Sunday went up. Comparing times of day, evening, late night and late afternoon continue to see the most crime incidents.

Want a longer-term view of crime in Worcester? Here's our latest monthly crime report.

To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department.

Head to SpotCrime to get free local crime alerts in your area.

This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.