Crime stats for 2016 show Tri-Cities had mixed progress

The crime numbers for the Tri-Cities are looking muddled.

The FBI released Monday the Uniform Crime Report statistics from 2016, which tally the crimes committed in the United States as reported by law enforcement. They include violent crimes — murder, rape, robbery and assault — and property crimes, including burglary, thefts, car thefts and arson.

Kennewick still had the most property crime, and Kennewick and Pasco are close with violent crime — 183 to 148. Kennewick’s total went up from 2015, while Pasco’s dipped.

But Pasco still had the most murders, with two compared with one each in Kennewick, Richland and Benton County. Franklin County had no murders in 2016.

Otherwise, the high-level picture appears mixed. Kennewick saw fewer rapes and more robberies. It saw more assaults too.

Pasco reported a few more rapes and more overall property crime, but violent crime was down.

Richland had more violent crime in 2016 than 2015, but less property crime. It also reported the exact same number of thefts and arsons for both years — 1,092 thefts and six arsons.

Benton County saw a sharp increase in property crime of more than 20 percent. It also reported more than twice as many rapes as 2015, from six to 14. However, assault was down.

Franklin County saw less violent crime, but had a slight increase in property crimes.

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Crime stats for 2016 show Tri-Cities had mixed progress."