Crime rates are down statewide. Despite a slight increase in violent crime, Watauga County ranks 22nd in lowest crime rate out of the 100 counties.
The office of N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper released the 2008 annual crime summary last week. The report is compiled from data reported to the N.C. Department of Justice by law enforcement agencies at the local, county and state level. Crimes are broken down in two sections, violent crime and property crimes.
Violent crimes include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson make up the property crimes category. The crime index number is per 100,000 people.
Statewide, the total crime rate decreased by 2.2 percent, from 4,658.6 to 4,554.6. The violent and property crime rates decreased by 1.3 percent and 2.3 percent respectively.  
In Watauga County, the total index crime rate was 2,645.7 per 100,000, down from 3,019.5 in 2007. Violent crime was reported at 119.6, an increase over 95.6 in the previous year. Property crime decreased significantly from 2,924.2 to 2,562.1 in 2008.
The highest rate reported was in Vance County with an index of 8,085.7. The lowest crime rate was 532.1 in Alleghany County. Statistics were unavailable for three counties, Hyde, Graham and Washington.
The numbers reported by the Watauga County Sheriff's Office indicate a total of 24 violent crimes in 2008, up from 16 in 2007. The largest increase was aggravated assaults, which rose by seven. There were 235 property crimes reported in 2008, a significant decrease from 290 in the previous year.