BOISE, Idaho — Crime across the state of Idaho in 2021 decreased almost 4% from 2020.
The Idaho State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification released its annual “Crime in Idaho” report for 2021 Friday. Of the surrounding areas, Garden City saw the biggest change. Its crime rate dropped about 11%.
In Boise, crime dropped about 5% and there were about 600 fewer offenses in 2021 than in 2020. Meridian crime rates dropped almost 1%, according to ISP's report.
Boisean Matthew Kutterer said Boise’s below-average crime rate impacted his decision to move here. As a dad of two, safety for his family is important.
“You’re not just constantly worried about something happening to them," Kutterer said. "I think in today’s day and age, we all worry about our kids more than when I was a kid and what might happen to them when they’re outside on their own."
Almost all crime in the state, including violent crime, hate crime and property crime decreased in 2021. Hate crimes also decreased. There were 47 hate crimes reported, which is a 12.96% decrease from 2020.
Crimes against society are the exception to this declining trend. According to the report, there were about 27,000 crimes against society reported in 2021. This includes prostitution offenses, weapons violations and animal cruelty.
In Ada County, drug and narcotics offenses increased about 8% and accounted for almost 50% of the crimes against society.
Across Idaho, there is a murder every 9.4 days, a rape every 12 hours, a robbery every 2.3 days and a kidnapping every 1.6 days. These statistics are fairly comparable to 2020’s data.
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