The City of Killeen saw a 61 percent decrease in murders in 2018 compared to 2017, according to Killeen police.
On Friday, the police department released its crime data for 2018. Preliminary data indicated that there was an overall 25 percent decrease in all reported Part One UCR crimes.
Part One UCR crimes include the following:
- Violent crime
- Aggravated assault
- Forcible rape
- Murder
- Robbery
- Property crime
- Arson
- Burglary
- Larceny-theft
- Motor vehicle theft
Police also said 2018 saw the lowest crime rate for the city in at least three decades.
"We are pleased to announce that during 2018, the City of Killeen experienced a significant decline in murders and robberies compared to 2017," said Chief Charles Kimble. "The community’s commitment and effort to combat crime has been on the right path and continues to be, in becoming a safer city.
Police released the following data on last year's crime as compared to 2017:
Overall violent crime saw a 49 percent decrease.
- Murder was down 61 percent. In 2018 there were seven cases compared to the 18 cases in 2017.
- Rape saw a 22 percent decrease. In 2018 there were 118 rape cases compared to the 151 in 2017.
- There was a 54 percent decrease in robbery. In 2018 there were 144 cases compared to 313 cases in 2017.
- Aggravated assault saw a 52 percent decrease. In 2018 there were 303 cases compared to 636 cases in 2017.
Overall non-violent crime dropped 18 percent last year.
- Burglaries decreased by 25 percent. In 2018 there were 853 cases compared to 1140 in 2017.
- Larceny, or theft, saw a slight decrease of six percent. In 2018 there were 2,249 cases compared to 2403 in 2017.
- Vehicle thefts dropped more than half with a 56 percent decrease. In 2018 there were 249 cases compared to 566 cases in 2017.
All data for 2018 is preliminary until it can be verified by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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