What Is Crime in Indiana Like?

For most Indiana residents, the Hoosier State is a fantastic place to call home. Indiana features lots of gorgeous natural areas, a robust economy, and a low cost of living. However, if you want to live in Indiana, there's one more factor you need to consider. Crime rates in Indiana have a big impact on residents' safety and happiness.

Generally, Indiana crime rates are around or below national averages. However, certain parts of the state have an elevated risk of crime. Before picking out your dream home in Indiana, it's useful to know some more details about crime in Indiana.

What is the Indiana crime rate?

Typically, Indiana residents report around 134,000 crimes per year. The majority of these crimes are property crimes, but roughly 21,000 violent crimes also occur in a year. These numbers might seem high, but keep in mind that Indiana is a very populous state. With so many people living in the state, it's no surprise that a lot of crime reports happen.

When you account for the number of people living in Indiana, the crime rates look less alarming. Indiana has a crime rate of 19.72 crimes per 1,000 residents. This is actually below the national average crime rates. Compared to the rest of the nation, your chance of becoming a victim of crime is slightly lower in Indiana.

Protect yourself from crime with a home security system

Though Indiana crime rates are fairly low, it's still a good idea to protect your home. Vivint's home security and automation system provides these advantages.

• Security alerts: With alarms and sensors, you instantly get updates about your property. Our smart cameras can even identify suspicious behavior and alert you to issues like a person loitering outside your home.
• Automated security: Don't let little issues like forgetting to lock the door turn into a huge security hazard. With our smart locks and remote garage door controls, you can make sure your home is secure at all times.
• 24/7 monitoring: Our team is always there to respond to security problems. Whenever something goes wrong, we can check on you and send law enforcement if necessary.
• Whole-home coverage: With a Vivint home security package, you can be confident your entire house is protected. Our security experts will tell you about all potential hazards and recommend ways to safeguard your home.

Crime rates in Indiana's biggest cities

Not all parts of Indiana have equal amounts of crime. Often denser, urban areas have more reported crime. To understand how crime rates in Indiana work, it's helpful to take a look at what crime is like in the state's biggest cities.

Indianapolis

If you want to live in the state capital, it's important to know that Indianapolis has fairly high crime rates. This city has 7.32 violent crimes per 1,000 residents and 35.20 property crimes per 1,000 residents. In Indianapolis, the overall crime rate is 42.52 per 1,000 residents. Not only is Indianapolis' crime rate much higher than national averages, but it's also higher than state averages. Crime rates in Indianapolis are more than double the crime rates for the rest of the state.

Fort Wayne

This northeastern city in Indiana might be very busy, but it's actually fairly low on crime. Unlike some other large cities in Indiana, Fort Wayne's crime rate is just 25 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate of 23 per 1,000 residents is a little higher than state averages. However, violent crime is very uncommon in Fort Wayne. Its violent crime rate of 2.64 per 1,000 residents is lower than state averages of 3.14 per 1,000 residents.

Evansville

Evansville is one of the most dangerous big cities in Indiana. This city has roughly 44 crimes for every 1,000 residents. Both property crime and violent crime rates are more than double state averages. On average, 7.44 violent crimes occur per 1,000 residents, and you have a 1 in 134 chance of being a victim of violent crime. There are 115 crimes that occur per square mile in Evansville while only 21 crimes occur per square mile in the rest of the state.

Vehicle theft and other common crime in Indiana

Indiana deals with a lot of different types of crime. Here are some details on common crimes in Indiana.

Car theft in Indiana

Motor vehicle theft in Indiana is prevalent in some areas of the state. The 2021 overall Indiana vehicle theft rate was 236.3 per 100,000 people, which ranked 25th nationally. The South Bend area is especially bad for automobile owners. According to FBI data, St. Joseph County (home to South Bend) had 150 reported thefts in 2021, more than any other county. This averages to nearly one car theft per 1,000 residents in the county.

Property crime in Indiana

Overall, property crimes like theft are the most common type of crime in Indiana. Though the state's rate of property crime is lower than national averages, it still occurs fairly frequently. You have a 1 in 60 chance of being a property crime victim in Indiana. Of all property crime in Indiana, 73% is theft. It is also fairly common for Indiana residents to deal with burglaries where criminals break into their homes and often commit further vandalism or theft.

Protect your property with Vivint

Crime in Indiana might be less common than in other parts of the country, but that doesn't mean it's nonexistent. Despite lower-than-average crime rates, Indiana residents still have a chance of encountering crime. The good news is that there are several steps you can take to decrease your risks.

Vivint makes it convenient and straightforward to protect yourself, your family, and your home. Our security experts are here to assist you with every step of creating a home security system. We help with product selection, installation, monitoring, and more.

Get started on your custom home security system by contacting our team today at 855.822.1220.