TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Crime rates declined in most East Texas counties over the past year, according to newly released FBI data, though a handful of counties reported significant increases.
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Data from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime in Texas (CIT) Online Portal shows reported crime fell in 18 of the 28 East Texas counties between 2024 and 2025.
Rains County recorded the largest decrease, with reported crime falling 36.03% between 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, Anderson County saw the largest increase, with reported crime rising 53.19% during the same period.
Anderson County Sheriff Rudy Flores told KETK the spike does not necessarily reflect a sudden surge in crime. Instead, he said the change is largely tied to reporting issues that occurred when the FBI transitioned from the Summary Reporting System (SRS) to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in 2021.
Flores said those earlier technical challenges meant some crime data was not fully captured, and the county’s numbers are now more accurately reflecting actual crime levels.
The CIT portal calculates each county’s crime rate per 100,000 residents by dividing the total number of reported crimes by the county’s population and multiplying the result by 100,000. This method allows for more accurate comparisons between counties with different population sizes.
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For example, Smith County reported 5,793 crimes in 2025, giving it a crime rate of about 2,293.4 per 100,000 residents after adjusting for population. While Nacogdoches County has less than half the population of Smith County, it recorded a higher crime rate of 2,702.5 in 2025, meaning crimes occur more frequently there relative to the county’s population.
KETK compiled the following list showing how crime rates changed across East Texas counties from 2024 to 2025:
Anderson County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate +53.19%
Angelina County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -9.80%
The amount of human trafficking cases reported in Angelina County fell 1005 last year, from two reported cases in 2024 to none in 2025.
Bowie County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +20.55%
Despite a reported rise in most other offenses, Bowie County saw a 20% drop in reported robbery cases from 30 in 2024 to 24 in 2025.
Camp County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -4.95%
Camp County saw a 61.54% drop in reported motor vehicle thefts from 13 in 2024 to five in 2025.
Cass County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +1.89%
Cass County’s number of reported rape cases fell by almost half in 2025, going from 11 in 2024 to six in 2025.
Cherokee County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -33.48%
Franklin County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +19.82%
Gregg County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -3.75%
Gregg County reported a 19.61% drop in reported robbery cases last year with 51 reported cases in 2024 going down to 41 reported cases in 2025.
Harrison County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +9.26%
Harrison County saw a 50% drop in reported murders from 4 to 2 but they also saw a 70% rise in reported robberies from 10 to 17.
Henderson County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -13.35%
Hopkins County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +3.12%
Houston County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -13.16%
Marion County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -6.01%
Morris County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -23.08%
Nacogdoches County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +10.81%
Nacogdoches County saw a 100% drop in reported human trafficking cases, down to zero in 2025 from six in 2024.
Panola County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -7.73%
Polk County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -2.80%
Rains County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -36.03%
Rains County saw a 63.83% drop in reported burglaries in 2025. The county was down to just 17 burglaries in 2025 from 47 in 2024.
Rusk County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -17.65%
Rusk County saw a 51.61% drop in reported rape cases last year, down from 31 cases in 2024 to 15 cases in 2024.
Sabine County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +1.02%
San Augustine County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -8.64%
Shelby County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -4.98%
Smith County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -3.75%
Smith County’s reported amount of rape cases rose by 12.74% by going from 157 in 2024 to 177 in 2025.
Titus County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -15.63%
Trinity County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +10.42%
Upshur County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: +7.44%
The amount of reported robberies in Upshur County went up by 100% last year from four reported cases in 2024 to eight reported cases in 2025.
Van Zandt County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -5.09%
Wood County
2024 to 2025 percent change in crime rate: -7.21%
For both reported manslaughter and murder cases, Wood County saw 100% drop in 2025. Both offenses saw just one case each in 2024 and fell to zero reported cases in 2025.
The FBI also publishes state and nationwide crime data thats available to view through their Crime Data Explorer. For Texas, many crimes like robbery, arson, burglary and motor vehicle theft have declined from historic highs set in the 1990’s.
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