Texas Monthly: Austin a “Fairytale Land Where Violence Rare”
Austin Has the Lowest Violent Crime Rate in Texas
“It’s long been noted that Austin is something of a fairytale land where violence is rare, and at least compared to the rest of the state, that tends to bear out. Although Austin’s violent crime rate of 287.7 per 100,000 is slightly up from 2013, it’s grown at a much slower rate than any comparably safe city over the past couple of years, putting Austin in the top spot for safe Texas cities. The murder rate is down; the number of aggravated assaults are down; the reported rapes are up significantly (which, as we noted earlier, doesn’t necessarily mean anything about the amount of crimes committed), and the number of robberies is up slightly. Generally speaking, though, Austin is still an extremely safe city.”
In Fact, Austin One Of Safest Cities in Country
Assessment of Results
“The violent crime rate in FY 2015-16 is up 11% compared to the previous fiscal year. In calendar year 2015, Austin’s violent crime rate was 3.73, 52% below the rate of 7.75 for large US cities. Between FY 2015-16 and FY 2014-15, Austin dropped from 2nd to 4th safest city in the violent crime rate out of the largest US cities (population of 500,000 and greater).
“To compare other violent crime components, during FY 2015-16, Austin’s homicide rate was 0.04 per 1,000 residents (35 murders), 57% higher than the previous year with 23 murders. In FY 2015-16, Austin’s rate of 0.7 rapes was 35% higher than the previous year, but overall, it was 10% lower compared to other large US cities. In FY 2015-16, Austin’s rate of 1.1 robberies was 10% higher than the previous year but 62% lower compared to other large US cities. Austin’s rate of 2.3 aggravated assaults was 5% higher compared to FY 2014-15 but was 51% lower than large US cities.”
And Austin’s Getting Even Safer!
“With an almost 10% drop in its crime rate, Austin saw the sharpest decrease in Texas and the nation.
“‘Austin is just a safe city,’ said Lt. Justin Newsom of the Austin Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit. ‘It has its moments where bad things happen, obviously, but overall, with the population growth that we’ve had, we’ve been real fortunate.’
“The city’s murder rate also had the largest decline, falling 33 percent while the average murder rate of all 30 cities in the study grew, the report states.
“While unable to pinpoint a cause for Austin’s decrease, Newsom said several city initiatives might be helping.
“‘APD’s very responsive to real-time data,’ Newsom said. ‘When there’s any type of increase in any type of crime, we put resources towards that right away.'”
