Maine’s crime rate drops for 2nd straight year

By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff

Maine’s crime rate dropped in 2023 for the second year in a row.

The crime rate was 29.65 per 1,000 people in 2023, a decrease from 32.16 in 2022 and 32.5 in 2021, according to the Incident Based Reporting data released Monday by the state of Maine. There were 43,377 total crimes reported in 2023, with a state population of 1,462,730.

All 129 police agencies in Maine reported data, as required by state law. The exact number of crimes may change as police continue investigations and provide updates, according to the report.

Overall the state’s violent crime rate saw a nominal decrease, from 1.01 per 1,000 people to 1, according to the report. This came even as the year’s homicide total was more than double that of 2022 because of the mass shooting in Lewiston that killed 18 people.

The vast majority of homicides, 40, were committed with a gun, while a dangerous weapon like a knife was used in 11 homicides. 

A total of 26 more people reported domestic violence assault in 2023 compared with 2022. There were a total of 12,065 domestic violence assaults reported.

Cumberland County reported 15 hate crimes, with York County reporting 10. Androscoggin, Franklin, Lincoln, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington did not report any hate crimes.

Maine had 4,648 full-time law enforcement officers as of Oct. 31, 2023, an increase of 46 officers from 2022.