As skilled lawyers, the holiday crime rate is an important issue to us. The holidays are almost here and will give most Idahoans a chance to spend time with their loved ones, exchange gifts, and celebrate good cheer. But unfortunately, not everyone has a family, the means to exchange gifts, or feel goodwill to all men. Instead, they may feel lonely, isolated, or hopeless. Some may even feel anger or rage, and not know how to function.

While there many other factors contribute, the inability to cope with uncomfortable emotions (such as anger) can often lead to crime. But what are other contributing crime factors? What crimes do people most often commit during the festivities? Read on and discover more about crime during the holiday season in Idaho.

Contributing Crime Factors

The conditions that affect a type and volume of crime in Idaho include:

• population size, density, and level of urbanization
• variations in population composition and stability
• economic conditions
• employment accessibility
• cultural, educational, recreational, and religious characteristics
• effectiveness of the police force
• prosecutorial, judicial, and/or correctional procedures
• family, community, and society values
• citizen’s view of crime and police
• crime reporting practices of citizens

Poverty, Socio-Economic Conditions, and Idaho Crime

Poverty and socio-economic conditions play a prevalent role in crime rates and statistics. Crime in countries with high poverty levels is vastly different than the crime rates in countries with lower poverty levels. There is also a huge difference in the types of crimes people commit in a variety of poor economies.

The seven most dangerous cities in Idaho to live have crime rates higher than the national average, as well as high unemployment and poverty levels.

From the most dangerous to the least dangerous, the following seven listed cities clearly have a correlation between their unemployment and poverty levels and their crime rates.

• Garden City 

1. Crime rate = 41.17% above the national average
2. Unemployment rate = 5.4%
3. Poverty = 13.3%

• Chubbuck

1. Crime rate = 90.29% above the national average
2. Unemployment = 5.1%
3. Poverty = 10.8%

• Pocatello

1. Crime rate = 25.08% above the national average
2. Unemployment = 6.4%
3. Poverty = 19.9%

• Twin Falls

1. Crime rate = 9.61% above the national average
2. Unemployment = 3.1%
3. Poverty = 15.7%

• Blackfoot

1. Crime rate = 16.05% above the national average
2. Unemployment = 1.9%
3. Poverty = 15.4%

• Nampa

1. Crime rate = 9.88% above the national average
2. Unemployment = 6.5%
3. Poverty = 17.8%

• Lewiston

1. Crime rate = 24.67% above the national average
2. Unemployment = 4.4%
3. Poverty = 14.5%

The Most Common Holiday Crimes

During the holiday season, the most common committed crimes include:

• identity theft
• shoplifting
• robbery
• drunk driving
• vehicle theft
• rape/sexual assault
• home burglary
• counterfeiting
• domestic violence

Group “A” Offenses

According to the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the term Group “A” sets the guidelines to identify offenses committed within a crime incident.

Group “A” consists of three categories:

• Crimes Against Property (e.g., robbery, burglary, larceny, theft, arson, etc.)
• Crimes Against Society (drug/narcotic offenses, prostitution offenses, weapons law violation, etc.)
• Crimes Against Persons (murder, rape, aggravated assault, simple assault, etc.)

Crimes Against Property

The state of Idaho has a crime against property every 14.3 minutes. With a decrease of 11.13%, the reported number of offenses reported in 2019 for crimes against property totaled 36,722.

Crimes Against Society

Every 19.5 minutes, the state of Idaho has a crime against society. In 2019, Idaho saw a decrease of 4.11% in crimes against society and had a total of 26,983 cases reported.

Crimes Against Persons

Idaho state has a crime against persons every 29.1 minutes. In 2019, crimes against persons totaled 18,065, a 3.94% decrease from 2018.

Contact Us

If your holiday season has not gone as planned, and you face charges for a crime, our skilled criminal defense attorney can help. At Aaron Hooper, Attorney at Law, we specialize in cases for:

• Felony DUIs
• Violent Crime (assault and battery, domestic battery)
• Sex Crime (sexual assault, molestation, human trafficking, and internet sex crimes)
• Drug Crime (possession, distribution, trafficking, and manufacturing)

So, if you find yourself in need of legal advice or do not know which legal route to take, we can offer you a free consultation. Contact us today.