New Idaho crime stats have good, bad news

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — A new report on Idaho's crime statistics released by Idaho State Police shows overall crime decreased slightly in 2020 compared to 2019.

But there's been an increase in violent offenses and a disturbing rise in hate crimes. The national Uniform Crime Reporting Program dates back to 1929.

It's an extremely detailed look at crime in each of the states. What the report tells us about Idaho is this -- the crime rate, in general, has decreased nearly 2.8% in 2020 compared to 2019.

But there are some alarming trends.

Violent crime was up almost 8 percent in 2020 from the year before. And hate crimes really jumped in our state.

Fifty-four hate crimes were reported in 2020 -- that's a 42 percent increase from 2019.

In Ada County, crime decreased by nearly 8 percent. In Canyon County, the crime rate decreased by 5percent.

And the three crimes that saw the largest increase: extortion, up 128 percent; human trafficking up 66percent and animal cruelty is up nearly 58 percent.

Still, Idaho has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. In the western region, it has the second-lowest crime rate. Wyoming has the lowest. Alaska has the highest.

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