Crime in the United States: All the crucial data you need to know

As far as property crime is concerned, thefts are the most common in the US. At the same time assaults are the most common violent crime as Pew Research Center published on its website. All the information presented in this article gives a good picture of U.S. crime rates over time.

In 2019 the FBI reported 1,549.5 thefts per 100,000 people, 340.5 burglaries, and 219.9 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people. Among violent crimes, aggravated assaults were the most common. The FBI reported 250.2 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people, 81.6 robberies, and 42.6 rapes per 100,000 people. Lastly, follow murders/non-negligent manslaughters.

Furthermore, from 1993 till 2019 according to data from the FBI and US Bureau of Justice Statistics violent and property crime rates declined significantly. For example, violent crimes per 100,000 people dropped almost 50% between 1993 and 2019. Violent victimizations per 1,000 people aged over 12 years old dropped almost 60% from 1993 to 2019. Also, property crimes per 100,000 people declined 50% between the years mentioned above, and property victimizations per 1,000 households dropped from 351.8 in 1993 to 101.4 in 2019.

Although data shows that crime in the US slowed down, people tend to believe the opposite. US adults when asked said that since 1993 there is more crime nationally than there was the year before. According to a Gallup survey in 2020, 78% of Americans answered that crime is up nationally while 38% said that crime is up locally.

The US Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in its survey for 2019 that either young people or those with lower incomes were far more likely to report being victimized than older and higher-income people. Also, there were no significant differences between males and females or those identified as white, black, or Hispanic. However, Asian Americans face a lower victimization rate than other racial and ethnic groups.

Crime rates differ from state to state and from city to city. According to the FBI in 2019 were more than 800 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in Alaska and New Mexico while in Maine and New Hampshire were fewer than 200 per 100,000 people. Oakland and Long Beach although having quite the same number of residents, it is worth mentioning that in Oakland the violent crime rate was more than double the rate in Long Beach. Various factors might influence an area’s crime rate. A significant role can play either the population density or economic conditions.

Fewer than half of crimes in the US are reported and fewer than half of reported crimes are solved. In 2019, 40.9% of violent victimizations and 32.5% of property victimizations were reported to the police. According to the FBI, in 2019 only 45.5% of violent crimes and 17.2% of property crimes were reported to and cleared by police. In 1995, also 40.9% of violent victimization cases were and 32.1% of property victimization cases were reported to the police. Furthermore, in 1995, 45.4% of violent crime cases and 17.6% of property crime cases were reported to and cleared by police. Both the percentage of crimes that are reported to the police and the percentage that are solved has remained quite stable for decades.

Motor vehicle thefts are more likely to be reported to the police. In 2019, 79.5% motor vehicle thefts were reported, 52.1% aggravated assaults, 48.5% household burglaries, 46.6% robberies, and 33.9% rapes. At the same time, 61.4% murders/non- negligent manslaughters, 52.3% aggravated assaults, 32.9% rapes, 30.5% robberies, and 13.8% motor vehicle thefts were cleared by police.

From the above data is clear that the most frequently solved violent crime tends to be a homicide. The clearance rate was lower for other cases such as rapes and robberies.