Rapes and burglaries rose slightly, and homicides remained the same at eight each year. The city's population increased about 4 percent from 1999 to 2000. Arlington's crime rate was up only 0.5 percent, the lowest among Texas cities where increases occurred. Rapes and burglaries fell slightly, while thefts increased from 12,556 in 1999 to 14,106 in 2000. James Hawthorne said.
Crime statistics go up and go down.
We try to look at long-term trends before we get too excited. Crime rates have dropped 34 percent in Arlington and 41 percent in Grand Prairie since 1991, a peak year in numbers of crimes for both cities during the 1990s, largely because of violent and property crimes. Last year was the first time since 1991 that crimes nationwide have not dropped, an FBI spokesman said. Nationally, crime rates have declined sharply during the past decade. Violent crime totals increased only 0.1 percent nationwide, while property crime totals showed little change in 2000.