Report: Utah sexual assaults rise while overall crime down

(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo) A watch tower is seen at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Draper, Utah, in 2015.Provo • There were fewer crimes overall in Utah last year, although the number of sexual assaults increased for the fifth year in a row, according to a law enforcement report.

The Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification last week published the annual Crime in Utah report documenting crimes committed in 2018, The Daily Herald reported Tuesday.

The report that uses data from local law enforcement agencies says 80,622 index crimes were committed in 2018, a nearly 12% decrease from 2017. Index crimes include eight offenses used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to produce its…