New study pokes holes in the aura of small town safety
Low crime rates are part of the draw for people living in Somerset and other rural Pennsylvania counties, but a new study pokes holes in the aura of small town safety. A new study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania found that simple assault, offenses against the family, weapons violations and protection from abuse cases…
Low crime rates are part of the draw for people living in Somerset and other rural Pennsylvania counties, but a new study pokes holes in the aura of small town safety.
A new study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania found that simple assault, offenses against the family, weapons violations and protection from abuse cases all increased in rural counties between 2013 and 2023. Rural counties experienced higher rates of drunken driving, simple assault and rape than urban counties since 2013, with growth in both driving under the influence and assault prevalence over time.
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan, Harrisburg-based agency that studies rural issues and makes policy recommendations to state lawmakers.
Although the total number of criminal offenses in rural and urban counties declined by 21% and 25% respectively during the 10-year period, the number of rape cases rose 19% in rural areas compared to just 1% in larger cities, the study found. Drunken driving and drug crimes were more prevalent in rural counties than urban areas during the 10 years, with rural drug offense rates ticking up since 2017.
The analysis used crime rates per 10,000 residents to allow apples-to-apples comparisons between rural and urban areas. Philadelphia County was excluded from the study.
Serious rates of crime, including homicide, rape, and robbery, were lower in rural when compared to urban areas, but rural counties had a 1% increase in rates during the 10 years, while serious crime rates declined in urban areas. The analysis found significant associations between the prevalence of drunken driving and rates of simple assault, rape and murder/manslaughter, which was particularly true for rural counties.
“These findings suggest that, despite overall improvements, rural communities face a distinct and evolving public safety profile that may require more targeted policy responses,” the study concluded.
Car thefts were a notable exception: rural counties had about half the number of stolen cars as urban counties during the years studied, even as the number of rural auto theft grew slightly.
Another bright spot: the Southern Alleghenies and north central counties had among the lowest rates of protection from abuse cases among rural areas. Protection from abuse orders are intended to protect victims from simple assault and other offenses by prohibiting contact between victims and perpetrators.
Violation of a protection from abuse order is a criminal offense.
But economic stress as measured by the percentage of county population enrolled in food stamps, was associated with the number of PFA cases reported in a county as well as hospitalizations due to firearm injury, simple and violent assault, robbert, rape and murder and manslaughter. Counties that had higher rates of firearm injury hospitalizations tended to also have higher counts of PFA cases.
Not surprisingly, the study suggested a clear link between property and drug crime levels across Pennsylvania counties in 2023; counties with higher drug offense prevalence tended to also have higher incidences of property crimes. This was particularly true for burglary and fraud.
Larceny rates, the most prevalent of all specific crimes in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, fell by nearly 50% for both rural and urban counties, while vandalism also decreased during the 10 years. In both cases, the rate for rural counties was lower than urban areas overall.
The study was done in cooperation with Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.