RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Violent crime increased and property crime decreased in Virginia in 2014. The Virginia State Police released the annual report on crime statistics Friday. It shows that violent crime — including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — increased by 1 percent in 2013 after declining by 1.6 percent the previous year. The homicide rate increased slightly, to 4.05 per 100,000 residents. Property crimes such as burglary, larceny and vehicle theft decreased 5.8 percent after falling 3.9 percent the previous year. The FBI has not yet released the 2014 national statistics for violent and property crimes. In Virginia, vehicle thefts and attempted thefts decreased 9.3 percent, robbery declined 5.3 percent and drug offenses were down 2.5 percent. Fraud increased by 12.5 percent.
