Jefferson County Crime & Safety

Jefferson County has a total crime rate of 1153.0 per 100,000 residents, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. This includes both violent crimes (202.7 per 100K) and property crimes (950.3 per 100K).

Jefferson County has a safety score of 49/100, rated "Average". A higher safety score indicates lower crime rates relative to other counties nationwide. It ranks #71 out of 99 counties in Iowa for safety (1 = safest).

The county's safety score of 98.2 is almost identical to the Iowa state average of 98.3. Its total crime rate of 1153.0 is only slightly higher than the state average of 1095.3.

Property crime occurs at a rate of 950.3 per 100K, while violent crime is much lower at 202.7. This means most law enforcement activity focuses on theft and non-violent offenses.

Crime data for Jefferson County comes from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Local law enforcement agencies submit data on violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft) to the FBI. Rates are calculated per 100,000 residents to allow fair comparison between counties of different sizes. The safety score (0-100) is derived from these rates, with higher scores indicating safer counties.

Jefferson County has a safety score of 49/100, which is below the Iowa average of 60/100. Many counties with above-average crime rates invest in community policing, crime prevention programs, neighborhood watch initiatives, and social services aimed at reducing crime over time.