Within the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the Crime Index is used as a basic measure of crime. The component offenses of the Crime Index were selected for use based on their serious nature, their frequency of occurrence, and the likelihood that citizens would report these crimes to the police. Eight crimes compose the Crime Index in the summary-based system: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The State's Crime Index increased 4.0 percent from the number of crimes reported in 1988. There were 19,199 Part I offenses reported to the police in 1989. After 2 years of decline, crime increased for the first time since 1986 in South Dakota. The Nation's 1989 crime rate was over two times that of South Dakota's. South Dakota ranked 48th of the 50 States in total Crime Index rate. The last section of the report analyzes crime data relative to individual reporting agencies in the State. Extensive graphs