Why? Frank Budd, a longtime criminal justice professor at Weber State University who is also executive director of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, says that basically more people living closer together brings more crime.

"When people come to Utah, they tend to be attracted to the Wasatch Front communities," he said. "When people associate more closely with one another, there is more opportunity and more impetus for crime."

Also, he said that in small towns, people tend to know each other and what they are doing — which can discourage crime and limit opportunities for it. "But there is more anonymity in a large community. That can contribute to (crime).... There is also a greater spectrum of economic status and poverty, which can contribute to it."

Utah vs. USA

Property crime rates are much higher in Utah than the nation overall. But violent crime rates are much lower.

Utah (or the local agencies reporting to it) averaged 26 violent crimes per 10,000 residents between 2002 and 2006.

That was 85 percent lower than the national average for 2002-05. The national average for violent crimes during that time was 48 per 10,000 residents.

Meanwhile, Utah's average annual property crime rate was 20 percent higher than the national average. In Utah it was 424 per 10,000 residents, compared to 354 nationally.

Budd said the high property crime but low violent crime may have to do with Utah's large population of young people.

"If you look at the statistics of who commits crime, it is typically people ages 16 to 22, and then they begin to age out of it. Utah has a lot of young people," he said. "The youthful population is prone to acting spontaneously without giving much thought about the consequences, so you see more crime among that age group. But most grow out of it."

He notes that the state's high rates for property crimes such as burglaries and thefts "are typically the sorts of things that younger people get involved in. Also, we, like every other state, face an increased drug problem. With illegal drug usage, you also see higher crime rates in theft and burglary" to help drug addicts fund their drug use.

Where crime is likely

The data suggest where residents are most likely to see certain types of crime.

For example, a homicide statistically is most likely to occur in Millard County, at least among agencies serving at least 10,000 residents.

It reported five homicides in the five years studied. The county, with only 12,337 residents, had a resulting homicide rate of 8 per 100,000 residents, worse than second-place Salt Lake City (6 per 100,000) and South Salt Lake (5).