ALPENA — Violent crime is on the rise in Alpena and the rate of violent crime here last year exceeded the statewide rate, according to a News analysis of recently released state data.

However, the city’s relatively small population means it only takes a handful of crimes to dramatically push up the rate, and 1st Lt. John Grimshaw, commander of the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post, said residents shouldn’t worry about a dangerous trend developing here.

“The only thing that I can say is, unfortunately, we have had some serious crimes that have occurred the last couple years, and I think that’s what might be skewing the numbers a little bit more than the average,” Grimshaw said. “I think it’s something that law enforcement takes seriously and we look at it, but we have to remember those are numbers that are being reported from a year ago, not right now, and that’s a big difference. Right now, I don’t see a trend or some major uptick in crime or violent crime going on in the region.”

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Last year, Alpena-area police agencies reported 51 violent criminal offenses — everything from rape to assault to arson — in the city, a rate of about 50 violent crimes per 10,000 people, according the News analysis of data released this week by the Michigan State Police.

That’s up from 32.5 violent crimes per 10,000 people in 2020 and about 40 violent crimes per 10,000 people in 2021 and exceeds the 2022 statewide rate of about 39.5 violent crimes per 10,000 people.

Last year was the first time in those three years that Alpena’s violent crime rate exceeded the state’s. The State Police did not report crime by city in earlier years.

Police reported a total of 1,144 criminal offenses — violent or not — in Alpena in 2022, a rate of about 1,127 crimes per 10,000 people, significantly higher than the statewide rate of 615 crimes per 10,000 people.

While reporting the overall number of crimes, the State Police separate out only what the agency considers the most serious crimes, including murders, sexual assaults, assaults, robberies, arson, and thefts.

Among those crimes, police reported 94 larcenies in Alpena last year, making that the city’s most prevalent serious crime. Police also reported 21 sexual assaults, 28 aggravated/felonious assaults, two arson incidents, 18 burglaries, 10 motor vehicle thefts, and 15 shoplifting incidents in the city. Other crimes, including drug offenses and drunk driving, totaled 956 in the city last year.

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Outside of Alpena, the region remained significantly safer than elsewhere in Michigan, according to the State Police data.

Last year, the violent crime rate across Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties stood at about 18 violent crimes per 10,000 people, near the rate recorded each year since at least 2018 and less than half of the statewide rate.

The total crime rate across Northeast Michigan last year was about 465 crimes per 10,000 people, down from a five-year peak of 534 crimes per 10,000 people in 2018 and about 24% lower than the statewide rate.

Northeast Michigan counties’ violent crime rate ranged from about seven violent crimes per 10,000 people in Presque Isle County to about 25 violent crimes per 10,000 people across Alpena County.

Northeast Michigan counties’ total crime rate ranged from about 172 crimes per 10,000 people in Presque Isle County to 674 crimes per 10,000 people across Alpena County.