Overall crime in Maine – including violent crime – was down in 2023 for the second straight year, according to a new report from the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Despite a mass shooting that took 18 lives in Lewiston last fall, Maine’s violent crime rate was nearly unchanged from 2022.

According to the report, agencies across the state reported a total of 1,400 victims of violent crimes. The majority of violent crimes happened in homes and involved people known to the victim, according to the report.

“We’re bolstered by the fact that the crime rate has continued to drop. It shows agencies are being effective in their jobs. That’s always encouraging for us,” said Auburn police Chief Jason Moen, who is president of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.

Yet the number of people killed in homicides or non-negligent manslaughters – 60 – was more than twice the 28 reported the prior year. Firearms were used in 40 of the 60 slayings last year, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Maine State Police did not respond to requests Tuesday to discuss the report and what it means for law enforcement in Maine.

The report also analyzed total crimes per capita, a 3% decrease, and revealed a drop in the rate of crimes committed against specific people and properties.

There were 43,377 total crimes reported last year, resulting in a crime rate of 29.65 per 1,000 people. That’s a decrease from the crime rate of 32.04 reported in 2022 and 32.44 in 2021, according to the Incident Based Reporting report released Monday.

The rate for crimes against a person dropped slightly to 9.14 per 1,000 people, from 9.53 the previous year, while crimes against property saw a larger drop, from 19.46 in 2022 to 17.17 last year.

However, crimes against society – a category that includes drug violations, weapons law violations and animal cruelty – saw a slight increase from 3.16 per 1,000 people in 2022 to 3.35 last year. That rate is still slightly lower than the 3.53 rate reported in 2021.

Police agencies reported 4,017 drug violations, nearly 500 more than the previous year. There were also increases in weapons law violations, assisting or promoting prostitution and animal cruelty.

“We still continue to see an opioid problem in the state that we’re working on,” Moen said.

The number of reported rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies were all down last year.

A total of 54 hate crimes were reported in nine counties, and one case came from Maine State Police. That included 15 in Cumberland County, 10 in York County, seven in Aroostook County, five each in Kennebec and Penobscot counties, four in Hancock County, three in Sagadahoc County and two in Knox County.

In Windham, police had investigated several cases of vandalism they said rose to the level of hate crimes. After the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023, Jewish leaders in the state started reporting increased incidents of hate speech. 

Over the course of the year, 241 officers were assaulted, according to reports from the 129 police agencies required by law to submit data for the annual report. Nearly all of those assaults – 202 – involved hands, fists or feet, while one involved a knife and two involved a firearm.