Safety

A community’s overall well-being is dependent on having places that are safe from any type of violence, including physical, emotional, or psychological. The safer a community is, the better the quality of life for residents, and the more vibrant a community can become. When safety increases, greater opportunity exists for more neighborhood events, connections between neighbors, and use of area parks and outdoor spaces.

Intimate Partner Violence

Over 34% of women and nearly 29% of men in Iowa and Nebraska have experienced some form of intimate partner violence. This includes physical, sexual, or psychological harm from a partner or spouse.

Nationally, 35% of people have experienced some type of intimate partner violence, which is similar to local rates. The prevalence of both reported and unreported occurrences are available at the state level, but locally, we only know about incidents that get reported through law enforcement. Incidents of intimate partner violence often go unreported so we do not have a clear understanding of the local prevalence.

Property Crime

Property crime is trending downward. Pottawattamie County has seen higher rates of property crime than Douglas or Sarpy. Still, property crime has been on the decline in all three counties since 2000.

Overall, property crime rates in our community remain higher than national rates. Douglas and Pottawattamie Counties have consistently had higher rates than the national averages. Sarpy County, however, has had consistently lower rates than the United States.

Violent Crime

Violent crime is down in Pottawattamie and Douglas Counties and remains the same in Sarpy County. Violent crime rates provide insight into the prevalence of a community’s most serious crimes and the level of safety within them. Violent crime in Douglas and Pottawattamie Counties has generally been on the decline over the last 14 years, with some increases in certain years. Meanwhile, Sarpy County has seen a gradual increase in violent crime since 2014.

In recent years, violent crime rates in Sarpy County have been lower than the national average. However, both Douglas and Pottawattamie Counties have violent crime rates higher than the national average.

Aggravated Assault

For the past 20 years, aggravated assault has generally trended downward. However, since 2014 Douglas County has seen an increase in aggravated assaults. In the last few years, the same is true for Pottawattamie and Sarpy Counties.

Aggravated assault rates in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area are higher than the national average. While we continue to have higher aggravated assault rates locally, we have shortened the gap between local and national rates in the last few years.