Report shows overall crime down in Idaho; hate crimes, assaults against officers on rise, however |

Idaho saw an overall decrease in crime in 2023, according to the annual Idaho State Police Crime in Idaho Report, which was released this week. The statewide crime rate fell a total of 5.56% compared to 2022.

However, a handful of key categories saw significant upticks year over year: Hate crimes, assaults against police officers and drug seizures all saw spikes in activity.

The Idaho State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification compiles the report, using the National Incident-Based Reporting System, according to ISP. Data is submitted by Idaho’s 104 law enforcement agencies, representing 99.6% of the population, ISP said. Statewide crime rates are calculated based on the adjusted population base of over 1.9 million people.

Crimes reported by a coroner, prosecutor or the judicial branch are excluded from the report.

Here’s a breakdown of what was revealed in ISP’s report:

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS 

There was a 3.18% decrease in crimes against persons in 2023. Crimes against persons includes assaults, murder, sexual assault, rape and human trafficking.

The total number of offenses fell from 19,003 to 18,398 for a total of 5,600 arrests. Simple assault offenses, which account for 60.26% of all crimes against persons, decreased by 1.37%, according to the report.

Violent crime decreased 2.42% statewide in 2023 with 4,601 offenses reported for a total of 1,893 arrests. Aggravated assault decreased 1.73% and accounted for 75.27% of the state’s violent crime.

Rape, which saw an 11% decrease in offenses reported, was the second largest category, accounting for 13% of violent crime.

Murder saw a 15.69% decrease from the prior year. The statewide murder rate was 2.20 per 100,000 residents. The state reported 43 murders and four cases of negligent manslaughter. Idaho State Police was the department that reported the most murders at 13.

In the Treasure Valley five murders were reported in Boise, three in Nampa, two in Meridian and one in Caldwell.

Interpersonal crimes also saw decreases across the state. Intimate partner violence was down 4.3% from the prior year. Violence against children was down 2.4% and family violence was down 1%. Other relational violence, which includes violence against neighbors, friends and acquaintances, was down 3.7%, the report stated.

Human trafficking, which was a major talking point for 2022’s crime report, has lessened substantially, according to the 2023 data. Human trafficking, including involuntary servitude and commercial sex acts totaled at 17 incidents reported in 2023, compared to 36 in 2022. Human trafficking for commercial sex acts saw the largest decrease, from 32 incidents to 14, a 56.25% decrease.

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

Statewide property crime, which consists of fraud, burglary, vandalism and stolen property offenses, also saw substantial decreases. The property crime rate for the state fell 11.14% in 2023 for a total of 28,838 crimes reported.

Though the number of robberies increased by 18%, property crimes including breaking and entering, larceny/theft and motor vehicle theft were all down by double digit percentages.

Larceny and theft offenses account for 40.79% of all property crimes. The category saw a 12.01% decrease in 2023.

CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY 

Crimes against society increased 1.83% over the prior year for a total of 28,403 crimes reported. Crimes against society include drug violations, prostitution offenses, weapon law violations and pornography offenses.

There was a 2.87% increase in drug/narcotic offenses, hitting a five-year peak. The category accounts for 49.53% of all crimes against society.

The state saw significant increases in drug seizures over the prior year. More than 4,000 pounds of marijuana were seized in 2023, compared to 1,500 pounds seized in 2022. Heroin seized increased from 5 pounds to 20 pounds. Seized hallucinogens, excluding LSD, increased from 20 pounds to 570 pounds.

HATE CRIMES

Hate crimes saw a 12% increase over the prior year for a total of 56 incidents reported. This is the highest incident number for hate crimes in the past five years, with 2020 holding the previous peak at 54 incidents reported.

Of those 54 incidents, 18 were against Black people or African Americans, 12 were against Hispanics or Latinos and 7 were against people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

For specific areas of concern, the report said that the Boise Police Department reported the most hate hate crimes at 16, with the Meridian Police Department reporting the second most at seven. They were followed by Twin Falls Police Department, Coeur d’Alene Police Department and Emmett Police Department, which reported five hate crime incidents each.

In an emailed statement to the Idaho Press, a spokesperson with the Boise Police Department said that BPD has a slightly different tabulation process on what constitutes a hate crime. According to their metrics, the spokesperson said that BPD recorded 10 “hate bias” reports last year.

Asked on the rise in hate crime in the state, an emailed statement from the Idaho State Police said that the agency was unable to comment on why crimes increase or decrease in the state, offering the report only as a tool for law enforcement agencies.

ASSAULTS ON LAW ENFORCEMENT

Assaults on law enforcement officers were also up in 2023. This past year saw a 3.28% increase in incidents over 2022 and the highest number of assaults in the past five years, at 504 assaults. Idaho’s rise in assaults mirrors nationwide statistics that show assaults on officers to be at their highest rate in 10 years.

The Boise Police Department had the highest incident count at 72 assaults, followed by the Nampa Police Department with 48 assaults.

Commenting on the rising officer assault number, Nampa Police Capt. Eric Skoglund said that increased officer engagement in the community, as well as a continually growing populace, could be factors in the increased assaults.