Crime in Barnstable Town, Massachusetts

Barnstable Town's crime rate

There were 628 crimes reported in Barnstable Town, Massachusetts in 2018, the most recent year crime data is available for the city. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 1,427 incidents for every 100,000 people.

In September 2020, the FBI released crime figures for 2019, however, as a complete dataset for Barnstable Town was not included in that release, 2018 data is shown here.

How does Barnstable Town compare?

Barnstable Town has a lower overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,580 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Barnstable Town's overall crime rate is 11% lower than the overall crime rate in Massachusetts. Statewide, there were 110,533 crimes reported in 2018, or 1,601 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2018. In Barnstable Town, however, property crimes account for only about 74% of all offenses.

Property crime is much less prevalent in Barnstable Town than it is nationwide. There were 462 property crimes in Barnstable Town in 2018, or 1,050 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,200 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Barnstable Town. There were 363 larcenies reported in Barnstable Town in 2018, or 825 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,595 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 85 break-ins reported in Barnstable Town in 2018, or 193 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 327 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2018.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 229 for every 100,000 people. In Barnstable Town, meanwhile, there were 14 motor vehicle thefts in 2018, or 32 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the more than 8.4 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2018. In Barnstable Town, however, violent offenses account for a larger 26% share of all reported crime.

At 377 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Barnstable Town is about the same as the national violent crime rate of 381 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Barnstable Town reported a total of 166 violent crimes in 2018.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Barnstable Town. There were 137 aggravated assaults reported in Barnstable Town in 2018, or 311 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is lower, standing at 247 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 8 robberies reported in Barnstable Town in 2018, a rate of 18 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 86 per 100,000 in 2018.

Rape

There were 20 rapes reported in Barnstable Town in 2018, or 45 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,380 rapes in 2018, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There was one homicide reported in the city in 2018. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Barnstable Town is 2.3 for every 100,000 people, considerably lower than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Barnstable Town compared to other cities in Massachusetts

Barnstable Town has a higher crime rate than the majority of all comparable cities in Massachusetts. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2018 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.