Violent Crimes, Property Crimes Both Up in Watertown

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report shows that violent crimes rose in Watertown, and other crimes showed an uptick in 2012.

The FBI's annual report includes information submitted by local law enforcement agencies. The information is compiled and released to the public in the fall after the reporting year.

There were 56 reported violent crimes in Watertown in 2012, which is a slight increase from 51 in 2011 but down from 64 in 2010. Violent crime includes murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. 

There were no murders reported in Watertown in 2012, but three forcible rapes. There were two reported forcible rapes in 2011 and four in 2010.

With 47 aggravated assaults reported in 2012, it was equal to 2010, but rose compared to 42 in 2011.

Property crimes continue to be the most reported crimes in Watertown. There were 528 property crimes reported in 2012, which is up from 492 in 2011 but down from 534 in 2010.

After an increase in burglaries in 2011, those crimes dropped in 2012. There were 66 burglaries in 2012 compared to 80 in 2011. The 2012 numbers are similar to 2010 when 69 burglaries were reported in Watertown.

Robberies ticked down slightly in 2012 with six reported compared to seven in 2011 and 13 in 2010.

Larceny-thefts rose significantly to 442 reports in 2012, which was up from 385 in 2011, but similar to 2010 when there were 436.

There were 20 motor vehicle thefts reported in 2012, which is down from 27 in 2011 and 29 in 2010.

There were no arson crimes in 2012, after having two in 2011. There were none in 2010, either.

Click here to find out more about Watertown's crime statistics.