New Hampshire in 1970: A Year of Larceny and Disorder

In 1970, the state of New Hampshire found itself grappling with the dark underbelly of crime, as reported by the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. The most striking trend to emerge from the data is the prevalence of larceny, a crime that dominated the state’s crime landscape that year.

Larceny, which includes burglaries, thefts, and motor vehicle thefts, accounted for a staggering proportion of total reported crimes in New Hampshire. This trend was not unique to the Granite State, however, as the national crime picture in 1970 was also marked by a significant rise in property crimes. The FBI UCR reported that larceny increased by 20% nationwide between 1969 and 1970, with burglaries accounting for the largest share of these offenses.

The rise of larceny in New Hampshire and across the country can be attributed, in part, to the social and economic upheaval of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the counterculture revolution created a sense of chaos and disillusionment, leading some individuals to turn to crime as a means of survival or to express their discontent with mainstream society. Additionally, the growing wealth and consumerism of the post-war era created an environment in which property crimes could thrive.

Violent crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, also persisted in New Hampshire, albeit at a lower rate than property crimes. According to the FBI UCR, the state reported a total of 131 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, a rate that was slightly higher than the national average. The most violent crimes reported in New Hampshire in 1970 were robberies, which accounted for nearly 40% of all violent offenses.

The FBI UCR program, established in 1930, provided law enforcement agencies across the country with a standardized framework for collecting and reporting crime data. By 1970, the program had grown to include over 15,000 participating agencies, making it one of the most comprehensive crime databases in the world. The UCR’s data played a crucial role in shaping crime policy and informatics, and continues to provide valuable insights into the nature and scope of crime in the United States today.

As the nation grappled with the complexities of crime in the 1970s, New Hampshire found itself at the forefront of a national conversation about the role of law enforcement, the causes of crime, and the best ways to prevent and respond to it. The data collected by the FBI UCR program in 1970 served as a crucial starting point for this conversation, providing a detailed picture of the crime landscape in New Hampshire and highlighting the need for effective solutions to the state’s most pressing crime problems.