Crime Rates In Montana

There is a lot of good news regarding crime. Nationally, crime has been trending downward for decades. According to FBI crime data, violent crime is dropping dramatically just about everywhere in the country.

The US is a big country, and those rates may differ in specific places. Even just looking specifically at the Montana crime rate, Billings may be different than Helena, which may be different than Bozeman. So, let’s look at crime specifically in Montana to see how it compares to national levels and give some tips on how to avoid crime happening to you.

Montana Compared to National Averages

Unfortunately, law enforcement reports have Montana violent crime ranked above the national average. Montana ranked 16th for the highest violent crime rate in the nation, at 418 per 100,000 in 2022, a drop from 11th, at 470 per 100,000 in 2021. Maine has the lowest violent crime rate for any US state.

Aggravated assault makes up the majority of violent crimes in every state, and according to crime statistics, Montana is 10th in the nation. Montana is very low in two of the other major crimes, however, coming in at 43rd for robberies and tied for 32nd in murder rate.

In 2023, Montana’s property crime rate was 1833.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, down from 1919 in 2022 and right around the national average. Most of these property crimes are larceny, such as shoplifting; trailing way behind is motor vehicle theft.

Of cities in Montana with data that was found to be correctly reported, Missoula had the most violent crime, with a total of 310 violent crimes, followed by Great Falls with 302; Billings was found to be overreporting violent crime in the FBI’s methodology.

Montana property crime stays consistent in these rankings; Billings had the highest with 4,449 property crimes, followed by Great Falls and Missoula at just over 3,000 each.

Avoiding Crime

 

Even though crime is down across the board, none of us want to be victims. The best way to avoid being a victim is just paying attention. Most crimes are crimes of opportunity, so do your best not to be an opportunity.

If you must travel through areas known for high crime, do so in groups. Strength in numbers is very real. Even in safe places, paying attention to your surroundings is still essential.

A sound home security system will go a long way towards preventing break-ins, which are already rare in Montana. These sorts of obvious things go the furthest in protecting you from crime.

Big Sky Country is fortunate to be relatively safe for most people, at least in terms of crime. There is a lot of wilderness to get lost in that presents its own danger.

Ultimately, we are safer from crime than we have ever been. Crime rates have been consistently falling for decades, even as we’ve become more aware of the crimes that happen.

Taking obvious steps toward protecting yourself will keep you generally safe from most crimes.

While The Advocates is not a criminal law firm, we want you to stay safe. However, if you are unfortunate enough to be in an accident, we are here for you. After an accident, you deserve an empathetic law firm that puts you first. You deserve an Advocate