HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (WETM) – A new FBI report shows nearly all crime categories reported by the Village of Horseheads Police Department declined or remained flat at zero in 2022. The one exception is a continued rise in burglaries.

After a rise in reported violent crimes in 2019, the FBI’s latest “Crime in the Nation” report shows 5 violent crimes were reported in 2022. 4 cases were “cleared” or closed last year. That’s down from 14 reported violent crimes in 2020. The report says 8 cases were cleared in 2020. Prior to 4 reported incidents in 2019, the Village of Horseheads reported zero violent crimes from 2015 to 2018. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the Village of Horseheads is 6,606.

The report notes crimes are not always cleared in the same year they occur. The report also says 2021 numbers are not available for trend comparisons due to police departments transitioning to a different database system.

Violent crimes include homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The report shows there were no homicides reported in 2022, the same as every year since 2012. There were no rapes reported in 2022. Two rapes were reported in 2020. One of them was cleared. One rape was reported in 2019.

There were zero robberies reported in 2022. That’s down from 2 robberies reported in 2020. One of them was cleared. From 2012 to 2018, there were zero reported robberies in the Village of Horseheads.

There were 5 aggravated assaults reported in 2022. 4 cases were cleared. That’s down from 10 reported assaults in 2020. 6 cases were cleared. There were 2 reported aggravated assaults in 2019. Both cases were cleared.

The report also shows a decline in most property crimes. The report says there were 66 property crimes reported in 2022. 49 cases were cleared, a rate of 74%.

The one category that is on the rise is burglaries, continuing an upward trend since 2018. There were 16 burglaries reported in 2022. 11 cases were cleared. There were 9 burglaries reported in 2020. 7 of them were cleared.

Motor vehicle thefts dipped from 7 in 2020, to 2 in 2022. Both cases were cleared. The decrease runs contrary to a national rise in auto thefts.

Larcenies fell from 81 in 2020, to 48 in 2022. 36 cases were cleared last year, a clearance rate of 75%. The report shows nationwide, larcenies increased in 2022.

There were no arsons reported in 2022. The last time an arson was reported in the Village of Horseheads was 2014.

The Village of Horseheads Police Department does not use a records system that separates gunfire incidents in its own “shootings” category. For example, a gun fired in the commission of a robbery would be categorized as a robbery instead of a shooting. The FBI report tracks the types of weapons utilized during crimes. The report says:

“Firearms made up the majority (80.3 percent) of all known weapons associated with estimated murder and non-negligent manslaughter offenses. Personal weapons were most often (87.2
percent) involved in estimated rape (revised definition) offenses with known weapons. Of
estimated aggravated assault offenses with known weapons, firearms were involved in 39.6
percent and personal weapons were involved in about one-fifth (20.3 percent). Of estimated
robbery offenses with known weapons, nearly half (46.0 percent) involved firearms and over
one-third (34.1 percent) involved personal weapons.”

18 News reached out to Village of Horseheads Police Chief Michael Suhey. In a phone call, Chief Suhey confirmed the numbers in the report were accurate, saying the Village of Horseheads is a safe community. Chief Suhey did caution people to be skeptical when analyzing data, because crimes are usually under-reported. He also cautioned the pandemic impacted crime trends in different ways.