HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The crime rate in Hutchinson and Reno County increased in nearly every category in 2017 from the previous year according to statistics released Friday by the Hutchinson Police Department, who keeps statistics countywide.

The number of violent crimes — aggravated assault, rape and murder — increased in 2017 with 200 such cases reported, compared with 177 in 2016. There were 160 aggravated assaults last year, compared with 135 in 2016; 36 rape cases, compared with 29 the previous year; and four homicides in 2017, compared to three in 2016. Property damage and theft reports also increased in 2017.

Drug cases increased dramatically from 772 in 2016 to 1,211 in 2017. Authorities have expressed concern in the past that the increase in drug activity is also bringing an increase in other crimes — such as burglary, theft and aggravated assaults. As drug users become more desperate, drug dealers become more demanding and dangerous.

The only category where crime declined in 2017 was burglaries. That category fell from 561 cases in 2016 to 508 in 2017.