Pittsfield & North Adams Violent Crime Rates On The Rise

Though violent crime is declining statewide and nationally, it continues to rise in Berkshire County's two cities.
The Berkshire Eagle reports that according to federal data, for the second year in a row, North Adams and Pittsfield rank among the cities and the towns with the highest violent crime rate in the state.

The City of North Adams had the highest violent crime rate in Massachusetts in 2017, The number of violent crimes North Adams reported went up from 181 in 2016 to 193 in 2017,  There were 15 rapes, 11 robberies, and 167 aggravated assaults reported in North Adams in 2017.

The City of Pittsfield's was the fifth-highest, according to new figures released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in September. In Pittsfield, the number of reported violent crimes rose from 340 to 375.

Property crimes reported in North Adams that include burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson actually dropped notably in 2017, from 433 to 399. In Pittsfield, property crimes rose from 1,016 to 1,092.