Running head: CRIME IN OMAHA

Crime Rate in Omaha When Compared to Other Cities

Name

Institution of Affiliation
CRIME IN OMAHA 2

Contents
Abstract..........................................................................................................................................2
Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review..........................................................................................................................4
Proposed Theoretical Model.........................................................................................................6
Research Design.............................................................................................................................7
Data Collection and Subjects....................................................................................................7
Limitations..................................................................................................................................7
Ethical Considerations...............................................................................................................8
Expected Outcomes – Analysis Significance............................................................................8
Data Analysis..............................................................................................................................9
Results.............................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................13
References.....................................................................................................................................15
CRIME IN OMAHA 3

Abstract

Omaha is one of the largest city in the United Stands and houses some the top companies such as

Pacific Corporation and Berkshire Hathaway. Therefore, it is imperative that crime is controlled

to create a safe environment for both investors and residents. To understand the distribution of

prevalence of crime in the city, this study assembles crime data from the fbi.org website and

organize it give the changes in rates over the years. It uses the various types of crime including

robbery, murder, aggravated assault, rape, motor vehicle theft, burglary and other forms of theft.

It uses raw counts from the website as recorded from 2013 to 2017. In addition, the study

compares the rates with five other cities with similar population size to Omaha. It uses

quantitative technique to collect and analyze data and present in tables. Analyses of the tables

indicate that crime rates in Omaha have been increasing with a 5.21 percent increase recorded in

2017. Other cities have seen their crime rates decrease over the years with Miami recording the

highest decrease of 18.1 percent. The study leads to a conclusion that Omaha city has devastating

crime ratings thereby authenticating the need for the police department to restrategize to salvage

the situation.

Introduction

As chief police in Omaha City, it is imperative to understand the dynamics of the crime

rates in the perspective of the trend in the last five years and comparing the statistics with other

cities of similar population size. The type of crimes that would be considered in this research

include robbery, murder, aggravated assault, rape, auto theft, burglary, and theft. Omaha is a city

in Nebraska with a population size of 466,000; other cities with a similar population size that

would be relevant in analysis and comparison include Colorado Springs, Long Beach, Miami,
CRIME IN OMAHA 4

and Virginia Beach. This study will establish whether the police department at Omaha is having

an adequate effect on the crime rate when compared to other cities of similar population.

Crime in Omaha has varied widely over the years since early times when Omaha was

perceived as a frontier town with widespread activities of prostitution and gambling. As the city

grew, civic expectations of higher standards developed with contemporary concerns for violent

and property crimes authenticating the need to develop an efficient policing department that

would control crimes. As an industrial city going into the 20th century, shared in the social vices

of the cities in the United States that had been accompanied by rapid economic growth and

entrant of immigrants (Hull, 1993). Poverty emanating from job loss and discrimination

contributed to different crimes as the city was approaching the 21st century with drug trafficking

and abuse becoming linked with violent crime rates after gangs from Los Angeles established

affiliates in the city.

Since the 1990s, crime rates have been on the decreasing end in the city with FBI reports

indicating that the rate of violent crimes per 100,000 individuals has been lower than the rates of

three other cities with similar population size (Greater Omaha Economic Development Council,

2009). Both violent and property crimes are still a social problem in the city, for instance, a

detective by the name Kerrie Orozco was shot dead in 2015 as he went to serve a suspect with an

arrest warrant in North Omaha (Womack, 2012). The other officers who had accompanied him

shot and killed the suspect. This shows that crime is still rife in the city and analyzing the

statistics would help in strategic planning and benchmarking for containment of the situation.

Analysis of the reports on the top ten safest cities in Nebraska omits Omaha in the list. It

also emerges that the crime rates in Nebraska are above the national average rates; recent reports

indicate 5.43 violent crimes per 1,000 people while the national average was 4.49. Property
CRIME IN OMAHA 5

crimes were no better with the city having 34.26 incidents against the country’s average of 27.11

(Larms.Org, 2019). The study would reveal the details behind these reports and help the police

department use more effective strategies through innovation and benchmarking of improved

cities. Omaha is the largest city in Nebraska and the county seat for Douglas County. It is the

headquarter to five Fortune 500 firms including Union Pacific Corporation, Mutual of Omaha,

Kiewit Corporation, and Berkshire Hathaway. It is in position eight on the list of top 50 cities in

both Fortune 500 companies, and per capita billionaires in the United States. Therefore, it is

imperative to keep crime rates in the city in check to promote more growth and maintain the

existing social and business environment. The issues that arise from the research problem

include:

 What is the trend in the crime rates over a five-year period?

 How does Omaha compare to other cities of similar size in the perspective of crime rates?

 What are major contributors of crime in the city

 Which type of crimes of have been increasing and which have been decreasing over a

five-year period.

Literature Review

Studies indicate that crime in cities is most prevalent in disadvantaged and stressful areas

characterized by disproportionate concentration of unemployment, poverty and minority

populations (Kershaw and Tseloni, 2005). Two criminal justice theories, routine activity theory

and social disorganization theory, have been postulated to interpret the association between

crime rates and the city neighborhood contexts. The routine activity theory indicates that

criminal actions are linked to the behavior patterns of people living within a particular urban area

and the characteristics of the social environment. Three aspects are apparent in perspective of
CRIME IN OMAHA 6

this theory: lack of surveillance or least risk, profitable targets, and abundance of opportunities.

The social disorganization theory contends that social and economic stresses such as poverty and

ethnic discrimination undermines the level of social control and destroy the foundation for social

cohesion, which prompts criminal activities (Jones and Pridemore, 2019).

Previous studies on crime rates in American cities have utilized aggregate data from

neighborhood levels such as face blocks, block groups, or census tracts. The recommended

research unit is the census tracts, as they compile socioeconomic data for explanation of the

various types of crimes in US cities (Krivo and Peterson, 1996). In addition, census tract is large

enough to capture satisfactory number of criminal activities within a given period. Past studies

have often used official crime rates as a measure of the frequency of crimes at different

geographic scales. In its definition, crime rate encompasses the number of crime incidents in an

area standardized by the population at risk, usually expressed as per a thousand people per year.

This method is better than raw counts of criminal activities when comparing variations across

different cities. Standardized crime rates present a realistic indication of risk of crime as research

has concluded that criminals would propagate their activities in communities or cities where they

are familiar or live (Ellis and Wash, 2000).

According to FBI reports (2015), all types of crimes had recorded an increase in major cities

between 2014 and 2015. Homicide had increased by 3.9 percent while robbery rose by 1.4

percent. While the increase is relatively small, it produces significant effects in the social and

economic setups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that at least

4,270 individuals are treated in emergency departments on daily basis for injuries from assaults.

Another study indicated that major cities experienced the highest increase in homicide and

manslaughter with 20 percent increase between 2014 and 2015 (Rosenfield, 2016). Comparison
CRIME IN OMAHA 7

of violent crimes by MCCA in the summer of 2016 showed that all violent crimes had seen an

increase except rape (Major Cities Chiefs Association, 2016). More than half of the cities

recorded an increase in aggravated assaults and homicides.

Studies of the underlying cause of crime in major cities indicate multi-systematic

contributors. For instance, law enforcement is not enough to prevent aggravated assault or

homicide. The roots of crimes span from all aspects of life and ought to be addressed in all

systems of governments. Discriminatory housing policies, faulty educational systems, systematic

poverty, and overburdened mental health care system are only some of the factors propagating

crime. The criminal justice system and affiliated systems exhibit widespread failure through

corruption and ineffectiveness thereby encouraging crime. The causes of crime are not only due

to failures in government but also include the sociology, physiology, and psychology of

individual members of the society (Green, Horel, and Papachristos, 2017). However, most of the

causes fall within the scope of law enforcement which calls for a holistic approach from the

government.

Proposed Theoretical Model

The research makes use of the theories of routine activity and social disorganization to access

the predispositions to criminal activities among the inhabitants of Omaha. While literature

suggest that crime rates are the appropriate analytics in comparing deviations among different

cities, raw counts per year gives a clear view of the number of criminal activities in different

years. Therefore, both are crucial concepts in this research; they are measurable constructs and

thus do not need any conceptualization. The various variables include crime rates by city and by

city. Counts of criminal activities categorized into robbery, murder, aggravated assault, rape,

auto theft, burglary, and theft. Research often require prediction of the results to through the
CRIME IN OMAHA 8

formulation of a hypothesis that will either be accepted or rejected based on the significance of

the sample results. To achieve the objectives of the research, the following hypotheses are

formulated:

 Crime rates in Omaha is equal to the rates in other cities of similar population size.

 The prevalence of crime in Omaha has remained unchanged in the last five years.

 The various types of crimes have equal prevalence in Omaha.

Research Design

Data Collection and Subjects

This study will use a quantitative approach as data in form of counts would be collected

from the fbi.gov website. This technique allows the conversion of quantitative data into usable

statistics that can be used to make conclusion regarding the variables and give recommendations

for correction of the problem. The data for this study involves recorded counts of robbery,

murder, aggravated assault, rape, auto theft, burglary and other forms of theft in the cities of

Omaha, Miami, Colorado Springs, Long Beach, and Virginia Beach. While the study is on

Omaha, comparison of its crime rates with other cities is imperative. These cities are chosen on

the basis of their size; the study looks to use cities of similar population size to Omaha, which

has 466, 000. Miami has 470,914, Virginia Beach has 450,189, Long Beach has 467,354, and

Colorado Springs has 472,688 people.

Limitations

Crime reporting can vary among the various police stations that provide data to the

fbi.gov website. It is frequently noted that police under-report and under-record crime thereby

making the available data not an actual representation of the events in the neighborhoods. This

would lead to erroneous conclusion and subsequent failure of the recommendations. The crime
CRIME IN OMAHA 9

reporting due to factors such as local policing or population culture that lack tolerance on

particular issues. When choosing the cities for making comparisons, population data is drawn

from the last census. While this data is easy to access and high quality, there are issues with

using it. In the United States, census is undertaken every 10 years. Consequently, there are as

many as 9 years discrepancy in the crime data obtained and the population at risk data. If the

population is stable with insignificant growth, then this would not be a problem. However, in

cities like Omaha, population grows at a significant rate thereby leading to overestimates of

crime rates if the counts are for a later year than when the population was counted.

Ethical Considerations

The study uses data that does not identify the individuals booked for the criminal

activities. Therefore, it upholds the ethical standards of keeping the participants of the study

private and confidential. The data is used for display the trends in criminal rates with the

intention of providing recommendations on how Omaha city can cultivate a safe environment for

its residents and to attract investors. All the ethical standards for a research are maintained

despite the sensitivity of the research topic.

Expected Outcomes – Analysis Significance

They study provides comparison among cities and over the years in presenting the

performance of Omaha in crime ratings. It would help evaluates the performance of the police

department in the city in preventing and controlling crime. It would also show how the control

strategies that are implemented every year are assisting in changing the crime rates. Analyzing

the trends over the five-year period would give an idea of whether the rates have been increasing

or decreasing and which criminal activities have contributed to the changes. Comparing the rates

with other cities of equal population size would help perceive those that are doing better than
CRIME IN OMAHA 10

Omaha and therefore evaluate their crime mitigation strategies. This forms the basis for

formulation of the recommendations for improvement in the city.

Data Analysis

Data is analyzed through calculation of the percentages to give the rates of increases in

the five-year period for each city. The various types of crimes are also analyzed in their rates of

change through calculation of percentages. Data is presented in tables and figures such as trend

graphs, bar graphs, and pie charts.

Results

Collection and analysis of data is as presented in table 1 below.

Table 1: crime rates in Omaha and other four cities over a five-year period

City Year Robbery Murder Agg Rape Auto Burglar Theft Total

Assaul Theft y

t
Omah 2013 718 42 1505 184 3080 3509 12519 21,557

a City
2014 723 32 1523 180 3,146 2,997 12,99 21,591

0
Rate of 0.16 0.7 % -23.8 % 1.2 % -2.2 2.1 % 14.6 % 3.8 %

Change % %
2015 655 50 1558 174 2543 2160 11558 18,698
Rate of -13.4 -9.4 % 56 % 2.3 % -3.3 -19.2 -27.9 -11 %

Change % % %
2016 610 29 1647 245 3125 2111 11571 19338
Rate of 3.42 -6.9 % -42 % 5.7 % 40.8% 22.9 2.3 % 0.11

Change % % %
2017 625 30 1843 410 3500 2088 11849 20345
Rate of 5.21 2.4 % 3.4 % 11.9 % 67.3 12 % -1.1 % 2.4 %
CRIME IN OMAHA 11

Change % %

City Year Robbery Murder Agg Rape Auto Burglar Theft Total

Assaul Theft y

t
Miami 2013 1826 88 3842 624 3236 7070 29097 45783
2014 1807 82 4205 598 3098 6424 28702 44916
Rate of -1.89 -1.04 % - 6.82 9.45 % -4.17 -4.26 - 9.14 % -1.36

Change % % % %
2015 1627 85 4361 583 3190 5372 27969 43187
Rate of -3.85 -9.96 % 3.66 % 3.71 % -2.51 2.97 -16.38 % -2.55

Change % % % %
2016 1505 86 4173 555 3250 2643 27862 50074
Rate of 15.95 7.5 % 1.18 % -4.31 % -4.8 1.88 - 50.8 % -0.38

Change % % % %
2017 1386 93 3999 688 3457 4385 27000 41008
Rate of -18.1 -7.91 % 8.14 % -4.17 % 23.96 6.37 65.91 % -3.09

Change % % % %

City Year Robbery Murder Agg Rape Auto Burglar Theft Total

Assaul Theft y

t
Virgini 2013 306 17 266 159 428 1388 9328 11892

a Beach
2014 256 17 278 149 345 1023 8368 10436
Rate of -12.2 -16.34 % 0 % 4.51 % -6.29 -19.4 -26.3 % -10.3
%
Change % % %
2015 269 19 236 147 402 926 8600 10699
Rate of 2.52 3.86 % 11.76 % -15.11 -1.34 16.52 -9.48 % 2.77
CRIME IN OMAHA 12

Change % % % % %
2016 264 22 286 167 457 827 8480 10503
Rate of -1.83 -1.89 % 15.79 % 21.19 13.61 13.68 -10.69 % 1.4 %

Change % % % %
2017 284 15 249 140 427 725 7692 9532
Rate of -9.24 7.58 % -31.82 -12.94 -16.2 -6.56 -12.33 % -9.32

Change % % % % % %

City Year Robbery Murder Agg Rape Auto Burglar Theft Total

Assaul Theft y

t
Long 2013 1117 33 1094 102 2004 2411 8669 15430

Beach
2014 888 23 1248 110 1852 2175 8422 14718
Rate of -4.61 -20.5 % -30.3 % 14.08 7.84 -7.54 -9.75 % -2.85

Change % % % % %
2015 1055 36 1483 179 2025 1936 10406 17120
Rate of 16.32 18.81 % 56.52 % 18.83 62.73 9.34 -10.99 % 23.56

Change % % % % %
2016 1138 33 1480 197 2028 1911 10355 17142
Rate of 0.13 7.87 % -8.33 % -0.2 % 10.06 0.15 -1.29 % -

Change % % % 0.49%
2017 1237 22 1642 203 1587 1710 9387 15788
Rate of -7.9 8.7 % -33.33 10.95 3.05 - -10.52 % -9.35

Change % % % % 21.75 %

City Year Robbery Murder Agg Rape Auto Burglar Theft Total

Assaul Theft y

t
Colorad 2013 426 31 1027 318 1882 3776 1276 20229
CRIME IN OMAHA 13

o 9

Springs
2014 412 23 1184 311 1616 2747 1199 18287

4
Rate of -9.6 -3.29 % -25.81 15.29 -2.2 - -27.25 % -6.07

Change % % % % 14.13 %

%
2015 377 29 1215 273 1680 2394 1243 18406

8
Rate of 0.65 -8.5 % 26.09 % 2.62 % -12.2 3.96 -12.85 % 3.7 %

Change % % %
2016 441 22 1373 287 2007 2546 1174 18420

4
Rate of 0.08 16.98 % -24.14 13 % 5.13 19.46 6.35 % -5.58

Change % % % % %
2017 484 32 1435 270 2150 2481 1068 17540

8
Rate of -4.78 9.75 % 45.45 % 4.52 % -5.92 7.13 -2.55 % -8.99

Change % % % %

Analysis of the data indicates that crime rate has been on the increase since 2013 with the

only year with a recorded decrease being 2015, when crime rate decreased by 13.4 percent.

Murder crime rate has shown consistent decrease in the five years period.

All the cities compared with Omaha had better crime ratings with all of them recording

decrease in crime in the course of the five-year period. In 2017, Virginia Beach recorded a drop

of 9.24 percent, Long Beach recorded 7.9 percent decrease, Miami recorded 18.1 percent

decrease, and Colorado Springs recorded 4.78 percent decrease. Only Omaha city recorded an

increase in the crime rates with a 5.21 percent increase. However, a look at the crime accounts in
CRIME IN OMAHA 14

all the cities indicate Miami to have the highest number of the counts. The city’s strategies in

averting these numbers seem to be working in reducing the high numbers as there has been

consistent decrease in the crime rates. It recorded the highest rate of decrease of decrease.

Conclusion

Omaha city is lagging behind in terms of crime control. Crime rates have been increasing

over the last five years while cities of similar size have been containing crime to document a

negative growth. Therefore the chief office in Omaha police department need to reassess crime

control strategies and even borrow from those cities that are doing well in their mitigation

strategies.
CRIME IN OMAHA 15

References

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Green, B., Horel, T., & Papachristos, A. V. (2017). Modeling contagion through social networks

to explain and predict gunshot violence in Chicago, 2006 to 2014. JAMA internal

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http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,978960-3,00.html

Jones, R. W., & Pridemore, W. A. (2019). Toward an integrated multilevel theory of crime at

place: Routine activities, social disorganization, and the law of crime concentration.

Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 35(3), 543-572.

Kershaw, C., & Tseloni, A. (2005). Predicting crime rates, fear and disorder based on area

information: Evidence from the 2000 British Crime Survey. International Review of

Victimology, 12(3), 293-311.

Larms.org. (2019). The Safest Cities in Nebraska 2019. Retrieved from

https://www.alarms.org/safest-cities-in-nebraska/

Major Cities Chiefs Association. (2016). Violent Crime Survey- Totals, Midyear Comparison

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OMAHA, N. C. I. (2007). A spatial Analysis of Neighborhood Crime in Omaha, Nebraska using

alternative measures of crime rates.

Rosenfeld, R. (2016). Documenting and explaining the 2015 homicide rise: Research directions.

National Institute of Justice at https://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/249895. pdf.

Simon, T. (2016, September). Health Burden of Violence in United States. Presented at the

Violence and Violence Prevention Congressional Briefing, Washington, D.C

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