Page 33 - 2015 Compass Now

Figure 8: Violent Crime Rates in Great Rivers Region*

350

# of Violent Crimes/ 300
100,000 Population
250

200

150

100

50

0 Monroe Trempealeau Vernon Houston Wisconsin Minnesota
La Crosse

2008 223 99 47 79 227 291 271

2009 220 111 61 48 144 276 250 COMMUNITY

2010 181 174 54 38 172 261 240

2011 181 101 24 50 302 252 224

2012 172 102 69 50 219 280 231

Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) as prepared by the national Archive of Criminal Justice Data
Violent Offense Rate = (violent offenses in county/county’s population) x 100,000

*The state of Minnesota categorizes violent crimes slightly differently than Wisconsin, which may explain why
Houston County has a comparable or higher rate than La Crosse County.

Sexual assault takes on many forms, including attacks such as rape or attempted rape, as well as any
unwanted sexual contact, or threats. Some types of sexual acts which fall under the category of sexual
assault include forced sexual intercourse (rape), sodomy (oral or anal sexual acts), child molestation, incest,
fondling and attempted rape. Sexual assault in any form is often a devastating crime. Assailants can be
strangers, acquaintances, friends, or family members. The National Institute of Justice estimates that 40-
50% of perpetrators are sexual partners of the victim. Moreover, the National Crime Victimization Study:
2009-2013 Report, conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, reported that 82% of all sexual assaults
are conducted by someone the victim knows. Sexual assault is the most under-reported crime in America.
Many factors contribute to under-reporting including shame and embarrassment, self-blame, fear of media
exposure, fear of further injury or retaliation, and fear of a legal system that often puts the victim’s behavior
and history on trial. Forcible fondling is consistently the most common offense type. Table 3 shows the
sexual assault rates in Wisconsin between 2006 and 2010.

Table 3: Sexual Assault Rates, Wisconsin (2006-2010)

Year Rate per 100,000 population % Change

2006 95.1 N/A

2007 92.5 +2.7%

2008 82.6 -0.7%

2009 82.2 -0.5%

2010 85.9 +4.5%

Source: Wisconsin Sexual Assaults in Wisconsin Report, from years 2008 through 2010;
2006 sexual assault rate calculated using population data from 2010 U.S. Census.

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