Decatur's crime rate
There were 2,329 crimes reported in Decatur, Illinois in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 3,294 incidents for every 100,000 people.
How does Decatur compare?
Decatur has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.
Decatur's overall crime rate is 46% higher than the overall crime rate in Illinois. Statewide, there were 285,545 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,253 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 2019. In Decatur, property crimes account for only about 84% of all offenses.
Property crime is more prevalent in Decatur than it is nationwide. There were 1,954 property crimes in Decatur in 2019, or 2,763 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 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 Decatur. There were 1,339 larcenies reported in Decatur in 2019, or 1,894 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.
Burglary
There were 442 break-ins reported in Decatur in 2019, or 625 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.
Motor Vehicle Theft
Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Decatur, meanwhile, there were 173 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 245 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 nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Decatur, however, violent offenses account for a larger 16% share of all reported crime.
At 530 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Decatur is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Decatur reported a total of 375 violent crimes in 2019.
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 Decatur. There were 247 aggravated assaults reported in Decatur in 2019, or 349 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.
Robbery
Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 65 robberies reported in Decatur in 2019, a rate of 92 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.
Rape
There were 52 rapes reported in Decatur in 2019, or 74 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.
Murder
There were 11 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Decatur is 15.6 murders for every 100,000 people, more than triple the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.
Decatur compared to other cities in Illinois
Decatur has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Illinois. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 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.
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