Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup that the rate of violent crime in Greene County is second only to the rate recorded in New York City, according to recently released statistics from the state Department of Criminal Justice Services. In 2020, Greene County reported 192 violent incidents, defined by the state as murder, robbery, rape, and aggravated assault. In a report issued last month, the department calculated each county’s rate per 100,000 residents and Greene County's rate was the highest among the 57 counties outside of the five boroughs. Erie County ranked second behind Greene in the violent crime rate, followed by Albany and Schenectady counties, outside of New York City. Greene County Sheriff Peter Kusminsky attributes the high rate to the presence of the two state prisons in Coxsackie. “I have received some preliminary information that there were potentially up to 80 assaults reported at the two state correctional facilities in Greene County in 2019,” said Kusminsky. “This could account for an inflated violent crime rate.” The total number of violent crimes reported in 2019 was 180, of which 131 were assaults. Eighty prison assaults would represent 61 percent of that year's total. “I have asked to have DCJS attempt to filter out the exact data,” Kusminsky said. “There is the possibility that some of the other violent crimes reported in the index crime data also occurred inside these same correctional facilities and not in the general community.” The two prisons are located in Greene County. In 2020, Greene County recorded no murders, 25 rapes, two robberies and 165 aggravated assaults. The county also had 357 property crimes, including 57 burglaries, 288 larcenies, and 12 motor vehicle thefts. In total, the 549 incidents reported in 2020 were a decrease from the previous four years, according to the DCJS. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.