Virginia saw an increase in violent crime last year, according to a report by state police.
According to Virginia State Police, the Commonwealth saw violent crime rates increase to 203 crimes per 100,000 people — that total is up from 194.4 in 2021.
The “Crime in Virginia” report said, when looking at the number of violent crimes, there was an almost 5% increase in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Violent crimes include murder, robbery, aggravated assault and numerous sexual assault offenses.
Homicides were up 10.5% with 621 people killed in 2022. The data also showed both victims and offenders were on the younger side, with 42% of murder victims being between the ages of 18 to 34 and just over 52% of those who committed the crimes in the same age group.
The report also found that more than half of the homicides happened inside a private residence, and 81% of homicide cases and almost 45% of robbery cases involved firearms.
Also last year, there were almost 22% more car thefts and attempted car thefts in the state. More than 13,000 cars were reported stolen last year, most from homes and more than 8,000 later recovered. The reported value of all the cars taken exceeded $201 million, the report said.
Drug arrests were down in 2022 by almost 9% compared to 2021. However, the number of people under 18 years old arrested on drug charges went up, Virginia State Police said.
The most arrests overall were seen among people between 25 and 34 years old. More than 115,000 people arrested were white, and more than 76,000 were Black. And 72% of those arrested were male.
For the first time in a decade, the state also saw an increase in burglaries and attempted burglaries. Burglary cases were up almost 4% in 2022 compared to 2021.
Fraud cases were up almost 10% in 2022, with businesses falling victim to fraud the most, followed by elderly adults age 65 and older.
In 2022, hate and bias crimes saw a 48% increase over 2021. Of those crimes, 64% were racially or ethnically motivated, according to the data. That was followed by offenses targeting the sexual orientation or religion of people.
The crime statistics are collected by the state from law enforcement agencies who shared information on arrests. The information collected will then head to the FBI to be used in its annual crime report.
