was abolished in 1876, restored in 1883, and abolished again in 1887, although attempts to restore it have continued to the present. (Michigan was the first state to do so, in 1847.) Nevertheless, Maine has one of the lowest murder rates in the United States, while large “death penalty states” such as Texas and California…
Major crime in Maine has decreased from 30.8 offenses per 1,000 population in 1998 to 27.5 in 2011. However, since 2004 the rate has increased slightly. See how Maine ranks among states on crime rates. The Maine Department of Public Safety reported a 8.5 percent increase in property crime during the period 2000-2011, while violent…
Rate/100000 Year Murders Maine U.S. 1980 32 2.8 10.2 1981 36 3.2 9.8 1982 24 2.1 9.1 1983 24 2.1 8.3 1984 20 1.7 7.9 1985 28 2.4 7.9 1986 22 1.9 8.6 1987 30 2.5 8.3 1988 37 3.1 8.4 1989 40 3.3 8.7 1990 29 2.4 9.4 1991 24 2.0 9.8 1992 25…
Reported rape increased from an average of 294 in 1991-1995 to 376 in 2009-2013. Looking at trends, from 1980 to 2010 (see Index Crimes) the number of reported rapes varied widely through an annual range of 145 to nearly 400. However, the number of arrests for rape has declined from a five year average of…
The use of weapons in crimes and other violent acts varies with the acts involved. However, the proportion used in particular types (murder, robbery, etc.) has remained relatively constant in recent years. The reporting categories of “hands, fists, feet” dominate domestic assaults and aggravated assaults. Guns were the most frequently used weapon in suicides from…
As the graphs below indicate, both violent and non-violent crime have been decreasing in frequency since 1980, with a slight increase since 2005. The number of crimes in 2013, compared to the 1980 figures, declined 22% for violent offenses and 36% for property offenses. See also Crime, Weapons. The Maine Department of Public Safety summarizes…
Maine has had its share of notorious crimes, such as the 2003 mass poisoning in New Sweden. The Brady Gang was responsible for another. Its career ended in Bangor on October 12, 1937. Here is an excerpt from the Federal Bureau of Investigations account of their crime spree: During the latter part of the year…
Mane had U.S. Marshals even before it became a state. From a letter to U.S. Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, on their request, from the U.S. General Accounting Office in 2003: The U.S. Marshal Service was created by the first Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789. U.S. Marshals were placed in…
Maine ranks very low in crime and prisoner incarcerations. With respect to crime rates, the Morgan Quitno Press, which produces state-by-state rankings on a variety of subjects, produced rankings of the “safest states” based on a formula that measures how a state compares to the national average for a given set of crime categories. They…