Violent and Property Crime Rates In The U.S.

Quote: Crime stats don’t lie-but they don’t tell the whole truth either.

Last Edit: January 2026. 

New data for 2024 and 2025 from the FBI have been added.

The latest summary from the National Crime Victimization Survey from 2024 is included. 

Extended Summations for US Crime From 2021-2025 Via The FBI and National Crime Victimization Survey Are On Page 4.

Brief And Extended Summations Of Crime Data By Year (2012-2024) Via The FBI and National Crime Victimization Survey On Pages 17-18.

Podcasts

Hear a podcast of this article on  YouTube that covers the first five pages of this report, summarizing crime data from 2021 to 2025. The podcast includes data from the National Crime Victimization Survey and the FBI for those years.

Chat GPT

Crime in America.Net–Chat GPT’s “Top 10 Sources for Crime in America” based on primary statistical sources with trusted secondary analysis.

Overview

A comprehensive, reader-friendly overview of crime with a focus on violent crime in the United States.

I try to respond to most user questions in a single document, which means that a wide variety of topics are covered. 

Summations of yearly sources/links are included for FBI and National Crime Victimization Survey statistics, along with additional authoritative data.

Keywords: Crime, violent crime, crime rates, crime statistics, violence, crime in the United States, crime in the US, crime in America, crime research, FBI, National Crime Survey, National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Gallup, criminology.

Quotes are edited for brevity.

Author 

Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.

Thirty-five years of explaining crime data while directing multi-award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies.Retired federal senior spokesperson. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet.

Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of Criminology and Public Affairs-University of Maryland, University College.

Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer.

Author of ”Success With The Media: Everything You Need To Survive Reporters and Your Organization” available at Amazon and additional bookstores.

Please sign up for future articles on the front page of this website.

A Layperson-Friendly Summation And Analysis of Crime And Fear of Crime Data for Recent Years

My Background:

I summarized crime and justice issues for dignitaries and practitioners while working for two US Department of Justice agencies: the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (senior specialist for crime prevention and statistics) and the National Crime Prevention Council (director of information services). 

I offered overviews of crime and criminal justice topics to every national and international media source for 35 years as a director of public information for state criminal justice agencies and the national entities cited above.

I take the complicated topics of crime and justice and offer observations and research summations that the non-criminologist can understand based on my decades of academic and criminal justice experience, including six years in law enforcement.

There is significant intricacy when discussing crime statistics.  Analyzing crime becomes complex because readers must go to multiple reports or locations to understand primary sources.

I try to answer most questions here.

Principal Crime Sources

There are many reputable sources for crime in the United States, but two are primary: crimes reported to law enforcement compiled by the FBI, and the National Crime Victimization Survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Both are US Department of Justice Agencies. More on both is below.

Links For The Latest National Full-Year Primary Crime Reports (2024) From the FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey

National Crime Victimization Survey (latest full year report) 

FBI (latest full yearly report)

A more readable narrative from the FBI for 2024 (the latest full-year report) is available here.

A Summation Of Violent Crime For Recent Years

If you’re looking for a summation of crime in the United States for recent years, here’s my analysis: There were record increases for rates of violent crime via the USDOJ’s National Crime Victimization Survey in 2022 (44 percent), and rates of violent crime remain high (essentially unchanged) for yearly, official reports for 2023 and 2024.

Reported violent crime via numbers offered by the FBI decreased approximately 3 to 4 percent in 2023 and 2024 for yearly, official reports.

Independent sources state that reported urban or city violent crime numbers have decreased considerably in recent years. In contrast, the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2024 states that violence increased for urban areas. 

Information on property crime is summarized below.

Sections Of This Report:

Page 1: Subsections Of This Report

Page 2: Context For This Report–What You Need to Understand

Page 3: Property Crime

Page 4 Summations Of Recent Crime Data, 2021-2025

Page 5: Historic Lows For Crime

Page 6: Crime Data From City Police Crime Dashboards

Page 7: FBI’s New Method Of Collecting and Reporting Crime Data

Page 8: Explaining The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey

Page 9: Who’s Impacted By Crime?

Page 10: Violent Crime Never Increased?

Page 11: We Have Never Lived In Safer Times?

Page 12: The Complexity Of Crime Statistics

Page 13: Fear Of Crime

Page 14: Identity Theft-Cybercrime

Page 15: Federal Crime Data Presented Before National Elections

Page 16: Repeat Victimizations

Page 17: Brief Summations of FBI and National Crime Victimization Survey Data By Year

Page 18: Extended Summations Of FBI and National Crime Victimization Survey Data By Year

Page 19: Links To Sources For FBI and National Crime Victimization Survey Data By Year

Page 20: Data From Gallup

1.

Context For The Rest Of This Document

My apologies for the extended context before examining crime numbers.

Detailed crime data is offered on page 4 for 2020-2025, and quick summations are available for 2012 to 2024 on pages 17-18. Preliminary data from the FBI for 2025 is offered.

But understanding crime is vastly complex, and context is necessary, especially for journalists.

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

Many readers have never heard of the 50-year-old National Crime Victimization Survey from the US Department of Justice, and it’s used extensively throughout this document. It’s a survey to uncover and discuss ALL CRIME, not just reported crime, through the FBI.

The US Census calls the survey the nation’s principal source of crime statistics. See page 8 for a description of the NCVS.

The Vast Majority Of Crime Is Not Reported To Law Enforcement

See Millions Of Crimes Are Not Included In FBI Yearly Reports.

I’ll summarize, the vast majority of what we call crime is NOT reported to law enforcement and DOES NOT end up in FBI or local crime statistics. If you want details, see below. If not, skip this section.

Does this mean that FBI statistics are invalid? No. While the great majority of crimes are not reported, their trend lines are historically instructive regardless of the numbers counted, but there is current disagreement with the trend lines when compared to the National Crime Victimization Survey.

Please understand that the vast majority of crimes are NOT known to law enforcement which means that crimes reported to the police (as offered by the FBI and others) provide a small subset of crime, which is why the US Department of Justice created the National Crime Victimization Survey over 50 years ago to measure all crime (except business crimes and homicides-you can’t interview dead people). People younger than age 12 are not included.

For example, approximately 70 percent of all crimes are property offenses, and, according to the USDOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 30 percent of those are brought to the attention of the police.

The FBI offers reported crime, not all crime, yet the great majority of media and public crime discussions will solely focus on FBI data, which provides ethical challenges. 

The criminological community has traditionally supported the National Crime Victimization Survey as a far more accurate overview of crime in the United States. Crimes reported to law enforcement via the FBI involved 14 million criminal offenses compared to the 40 million-plus figure via the NCVS (including identity theft).

Reported Crimes In 2020–2023: About 38% of violent victimizations in urban areas were reported to police, which was lower than the percentages in suburban (43%) and rural (51%) areas. The reason for considering this data is that urban areas drive most reported crimes in a state.

From official yearly reports from the National Crime Victimization Survey:

46 percent of violent victimizations were reported to police in 2021, higher than in 2020 (40%) per the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

42 percent of violent victimizations were reported in 2022. 32 percent of property crimes were reported.

45 percent of violent crimes were reported in 2023. 30 percent of property crimes were reported.

47.9 percent of violent victimizations were reported in 2024. 30 percent of property crimes were reported.

74 percent of violent victimizations against juveniles were not reported to the police, and juvenile crime seems to be growing in some cities.

For identity theft, roughly 7 percent of incidents were reported per the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

There are 120 million porch package thefts in 2024, far more than all categories of property crime recorded by the FBI in 2023. Twenty-three percent of porch package thefts are reported to law enforcement.

About 12,000 hate crime incidents were reported to the FBI, and approximately 250,000 yearly hate crime incidents were recorded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey in 2023.

As with all crime statistics, caution is urged; some variables affect people’s willingness to report crimes.

Variables include: Most violent crimes involve offenders whom victims know, and it may be considered a private or personal matter. There may be little chance of finding the offender for property crimes, so victims are reluctant to report. Additional considerations include: excessive wait times for police officers to arrive due to losing 25,000 officers and employees (per the Bureau Of Labor Statistics) to police resignations or retirements, issues with police-community relations due to protests and negative media coverage of use of force issues, police officers not writing reports because they believe that criminal justice reforms negate their efforts or they are discouraged from creating reports due to pressure to reduce crime numbers.

Is Law Enforcement Reporting All Crimes Per Incident To The FBI?

Law enforcement agencies have dramatically improved their adoption of the FBI’s new National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). The FBI, however, is allowing agencies to submit data from the old Summary Reporting System (SRS). See below for a longer explanation of the NIBRS.

NIBRS collects data for 52 offenses, plus 10 additional offenses for which only arrests are reported. SRS counts limited data for 10 offenses and 20 additional crimes for which only arrests are reported.

NIBRS adoption by law enforcement was a struggle for years because, instead of police agencies traditionally reporting one primary crime per incident, there was the possibility of reporting up to ten crimes connected to one incident to the FBI.

Multiple charges are routine after an arrest; they are used for plea bargaining, the primary method of disposing of criminal cases. Some observers suggest that there are far more crimes occurring than are reported to the FBI because many (most?) law enforcement agencies continue to report one primary crime to the FBI rather than all related crimes.  See a story from CBS News as an example.

Note that arrests have plummeted over the last two decades, and arrests declined sharply since the beginning of the police use of force protests and COVID, thus, there is evidence that events affect numbers.

If there’s no arrest and no paperwork, was the crime counted in official statistics? 

Crimes solved have also declined considerably.

Use Of Big City Police Crime Dashboard Data-Are City Crime Numbers An Accurate Indication Of National Crime?

Why do I include crime reports based on big-city crime dashboards? Three groups and national news organizations now use the method, and they are driving the current conversation of whether crime is increasing or decreasing in the United States cities based on reported crimes.

People are tired of waiting for the FBI to release crime data for the previous year in late summer or fall. But, interestingly, the FBI is now releasing monthly, quarterly, and half-year national reported crime data per their announcement of 2024 yearly crime statistics in August 2025.

Numbers for 2024 and 2025, per big city crime dashboards, have their own section below. Warning. One private organization’s predictions were mostly inaccurate. They are not alone; preliminary crime reports from the FBI can significantly overstate the percentage of crime decrease offered at the end of the year. 

Reported Crime Decreases Were Inevitable After Big Increases 

Decreases in reported crime could also be nothing more than an ebb and flow of crime numbers over time. After the Major Cities Chiefs Association report stated that homicides increased by 50 percent and aggravated assaults increased by 36 percent for their cities measured from 2019-2022, it was inevitable that reported violence would decrease regardless of interventions (known as a regression to the mean or average). Increases or decreases in crime always change over time, regardless of crime interventions. Many believe that mayors and others taking credit for reported crime drops are overstating their case.

Baseline Data

You can prove any crime statistic you want based on the year you compare statistics to (baseline data). Most current use of baseline data compares crime to 2019, the year before COVID. If a source uses earlier data, be wary of the result.

Full-Year Crime Reports Versus Preliminary Crime Reports

You will see discussions of full-year crime reports versus preliminary crime reports. Traditionally, full-year final crime reports are considered the official position of the US Department of Justice through the FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey.

Preliminary reports “may” be accurate but are subject to change; they often overstate crime trends (see below). Preliminary reports need to be used with caution (the data could dramatically change). 

Preliminary crime statistics only apply to FBI data. The National Crime Victimization Survey does not issue preliminary numbers.

The FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey Revises Its Crime Numbers

See Jeff Asher’s analysis regarding revisions in numbers from the FBI for 2021. Jeff states, “The problem is that the NIBRS switch meant that the share of the US population covered by an agency reporting crime data fell from roughly 95 percent in an average year to 65 percent in 2021.” “The 2021 estimates require an asterisk and should be ignored, and analyzing crime trends shouldn’t rely on them.”

If you want to explain how the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics revise or compute missing or incomplete data from law enforcement agencies, see here via Jeff Asher. 

Both the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics released data before the presidential election in 2020, indicating that violence decreased. Both clarified via emails that there were definitional issues and that violence did not decrease.

The FBI’s preliminary numbers for 2023 and 2024 were significantly off when compared to the final numbers (see below).

The moral of the story? There are disagreements as to crime numbers. I suggest that you not wed yourself to precise crime data as offered; numbers can change. Compare multiple sources. Use official final yearly reports.

Crime Reports Vary By Methods Of Data Collection

Readers ask about the differences between crimes reported to law enforcement through the FBI and crimes collected via the National Crime Victimization Survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

This report uses data from various sources that collect crime numbers in different ways and offers their findings in divergent formats. Reports may differ based on the methodologies used and how they report their findings. Disagreements as to findings may be nothing more than how the data was collected and presented.

Divergent reports collect and report crime data differently; it’s not necessarily a matter of correct or incorrect data.

Long-Range Crime Data

The United States experienced a substantial drop in criminality over a 20-year-plus period (covered below), which partially ended with a 28 percent increase in violent crime and serious violent crime (2018 compared to 2015) per the National Crime Victimization Survey. It’s up to readers to judge if long-range crime charts are meaningful or a history lesson. Most readers don’t care what happened in 1995; they want to know what’s happening now (or in recent years) as to crime and their safety.

The National Crime Victimization Survey Likes Stability In Its Narratives

The National Crime Victimization Survey will suggest stability in crime statistics in its narratives over the course of two or multiple years, even if there are small decreases or increases. For 2024 property crimes, their narrative suggests a lack of change (using the word comparable), but their numbers and rates from 2023-2024 decreased by small amounts. Check the chart footnotes for possible reasons.

Complexity Of Understanding National Crime Statistics

Yes, it’s confusing. Sometimes massively so. Even those of us who spend a lifetime examining national crime statistics become bewildered by the complexity of crime and its accurate reporting. See page 13 for examples.

Most federal crime reports and websites are intricate and difficult to read and understand, the reason for creating this report.

Links

I do not source every link. Links per year are offered below for all crime documentation.

2.

Property Crimes

While most of this report focuses on violent crime, it’s important to note that there “was” a considerable and continuous decrease in property crime over time (with some exceptions from the FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey) until the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2022 released data saying that:

Households in the United States experienced 13.4 million property victimizations in 2022, up from 11.7 million in 2021. The rate of property victimization in 2022 was 101.9 victimizations per 1,000 households, higher than the rate in 2021 (90.3 per 1,000).

The number of property victimizations in 2023 was similar to the number in 2022. Households in the United States experienced 13.6 million property victimizations in 2023. The number of property victimizations was comparable to the number in 2022 but higher than the 12.8 million in 2019. 

Per the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2024, households in the United States experienced 13.1 million property victimizations in 2024, which was comparable to the number in 2023 but larger than the number 5 years before, in 2020 (12.1 million). Property crime includes burglary or trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of household theft.

The rate of property victimization remained stable from 2023 to 2024 (97.6 victimizations per 1,000 households) and was also similar to the rate in 2022. There were no significant changes in the rates of specific types of property victimization between 2023 and 2024. The motor vehicle theft rate increased from 4.3 per 1,000 in 2020 to 6.3 per 1,000 in 2024.

Chart-National Crime Victimization Survey-2024

FBI Property Crimes Reported To Law Enforcement

According to crimes reported to law enforcement, as recorded by the FBI, the property crime rate increased considerably for the first time since 2012, according to the FBI’s 2022 report.

For 2023, the FBI suggests declines in all forms of property crimes except for vehicle theft (which increased considerably). It’s –2.4 percent overall, for burglary, -7.6 percent, for Larceny, -4.4 percent, for motor vehicle theft, it increased by 12.6%.

The 2024 FBI report shows an overall decrease in property crime of 8.1 percent, burglary-8.6%, larceny-5.5%, and motor vehicle theft-18.6%.

Preliminary property crime data for 2025 is below.

Other Sources For Property Crimes

Per Gallup, Americans are most likely to have experienced theft, with 14% saying money or property was stolen from them or another household member in the past year. Vandalism, at 12%, is also one of the more common crimes. The biggest increase observed in 2021 was three percentage points for burglary, with 5% saying their home or apartment was broken into in the past year (link below).

According to Pew, about a third of Americans report having experienced an online shopping scam.

Overall, adults 60 and older reported losing $2.4 billion in 2024 to fraud, including money lost to investment scams, according to the FTC’s annual report to Congress released Dec. 1. That’s up 26.3% from $1.9 billion in 2023.

Retail shrinkage (shoplifting, organized attacks, and employee theft) hit $94.5 billion in 2021, a 53% jump from 2019, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey of around 60 retail member companies, CNN. Data from a variety of sources suggests that shoplifting losses continue to increase.

According to the National Retail Federation, $112.1 billion in losses were attributed to shrinkage, mostly theft and organized retail crime (ORC)—in 2022, a 19% increase over the year before. Retailers reported a 93% increase in the average number of shoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 and a 90% increase in dollar loss due to shoplifting over the same time period, according to a study released by the National Retail Federation. Conducted in partnership with the Loss Prevention Research Council and sponsored by Sensormatic Solutions, “The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2024.”

There are 120 million porch package thefts in the US. Searches for “stolen package” spike every December, according to Google Trends. The survey indicated that there are far more porch pirate thefts than total reported property crimes to the FBI. The financial toll of these thefts is $16 billion. 

Inside Edition Television offered a report examining storage unit thefts. They observed that storage unit companies often did not report break-ins to law enforcement and cited a storage company in Denver that had 55 burglaries in one year.

USA Today: “Scammers and cybercriminals stole a record total of $16.6 billion from Americans in 2024, marking a 33% increase in losses from 2023, the FBI said in a new report on April 23.” “The report released by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) revealed that the “staggering” new record is likely an undercount of the total loss (emphasis added) from cyber-enabled fraud and scams, according to Cynthia Kaiser, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division. The figure is only representative of information and complaints submitted by victims to the IC3, FBI officials confirmed.”

The Hill (newspaper of Congress) addresses cargo theft. The numbers we do know are concerning. The average value of each cargo theft is more than $200,000, and according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, there has been a 1,500 percent increase in cargo theft incidents since 2021. Total cargo theft losses increased by 27 percent in 2024 and are projected to rise another 22 percent in 2025.

Pew: Most U.S. adults (73%) say they’ve experienced some kind of online scam or attack across age groups. Many get scam calls, texts, and emails at least weekly.

So the FBI may be recording decreases in property crimes in 2024, but the National Crime Victimization Survey offers stability as to rates and numbers over time (with my reading of the above chart indicating small decreases in rates and numbers for 2024).

The data from other agencies above includes various dates, suggesting increases.

3.

Summation Of The Most Recent Violent And Property Crime Data From The FBI-2021-2025 

See Summations Of Historical Data From The FBI and Bureau of Justice Statistics-National Crime Victimization Survey, 2012 to 2024, On Pages 18-19

FBI Reported Preliminary U.S. Violent Crime Trends-2025

June 2024 – May 2025-Overall -7.4%, Murder-16.3%, Rape-4.3%, Robbery-14.0%, Aggravated Assault-6.0%

 

FBI Releases Official 2024 Crimes Reported To Law Enforcement-Violence Decreased 4.5 Percent 

“Reported Crimes in the Nation (RCN), 2024” includes data received from 16,675 law enforcement agencies (there are approximately 19,000 police agencies per the Bureau of Justice Statistics) that provided data through either the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) or the Summary Reporting System (SRS).

An interesting but tragic side note: FBI counts of homicides are decreasing. Per CBS News, almost 5.4 million Americans have reported being victims of domestic violence over the last five years, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The majority, nearly 80%, were women. And according to the FBI, domestic homicides more than doubled between 2019 and 2024, increasing from 1,065 to 2,339. The latest data has experts worried.

Violent Crime

Violent crime consists of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Nationwide, from 2023 to 2024, the estimated volume of violent crime offenses showed the following changes:

Violent crime decreased an estimated 4.5%.

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 14.9%.

Rape decreased an estimated 5.2%.

Robbery decreased an estimated 8.9%.

Aggravated assault decreased an estimated 3.0%.

An estimated 1,221,345 violent crime offenses were committed in 2024, indicating a rate of 359.1 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, down from the 2023 estimated offense rate of 379.5 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants.

An estimated 419,423 arrests for violent crime offenses were made in 2024.

Property Crime

Property crime consists of burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Nationwide, from 2023 to 2024, the estimated volume of property crime offenses showed the following changes:

Property crime decreased an estimated 8.1%.

Burglary decreased an estimated 8.6%.

Larceny-theft decreased an estimated 5.5%.

Motor vehicle theft decreased an estimated 18.6%.

An estimated 5,986,400 property crime offenses were committed in 2024, indicating an offense rate of 1,760.1 property crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, down from the 2023 estimated offense rate of 1,934.1 property crimes per 100,000 inhabitants.

An estimated 910,654 arrests for property crime offenses were made in 2024.

Extended-Year Violent and Property Crime Trends, 2005-2024

FBI data shows 20-year trends in estimated violent crime rates per 100,000 inhabitants from 2005 to 2024. Rates of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter range from a 20-year low of 4.4 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014 to a high of 6.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020. Estimated rates during the 3 years from 2020 through 2022 were an average of 6.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants per year, while the most recent 2024 estimate of 5.0 murders per 100,000 inhabitants returned to a rate closer to the 5.1 murders per 100,000 inhabitants estimated in 2019.

First Six Months Of FBI Preliminary Crimes Reported To Law Enforcement For 2024

On Monday, September 30, 2024, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program released reported crime data for January-June 2024 on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer (CDE) at https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov.

The January-June 2024 data, provides a preliminary look at crime trends for January through June 2024 compared to January through June 2023.

A comparison of data from agencies that voluntarily submitted at least three or more common months of data for January through June 2023 and 2024 indicates:

Reported violent crime decreased by 10.3 percent

Murder decreased by 22.7 percent

Rape decreased by 17.7 percent

Robbery decreased by 13.6 percent

Aggravated assault decreased by 8.1 percent

Reported property crime decreased by 13.1 percent

Warnings On The Use Of Preliminary Reported Crime Data

If one examines the preliminary reports from the FBI for 2024, significant differences are apparent between the mid-year projections and the actual outcomes in 2024. The FBI projected a 10.3 percent reduction in violent crime.

The end-of-year FBI report recorded a 4.5 percent reduction in violence. There are very big differences in the FBI’s preliminary report and end-of-year analysis for murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, and property crime; all were considerably off their projections. Mid-year reports may be inaccurate because substantial numbers of police agencies report their crime figures at the end of the year.

If one looks at FBI figures for the month when most crime happens, it’s December. Is that accurate? No. It simply reflects the fact that some (many?) police agencies can (and do) wait till the end of the year to offer crime statistics. What you get now will change. More on this topic is below.

FBI Releases Official 2023 Crimes Reported To Law Enforcement-Violence Decreased 3 Percent

The FBI released detailed data on over 14 million criminal offenses for 2023 reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program by participating law enforcement agencies. More than 16,000 agencies, covering a combined population of 94.3% inhabitants, submitted data to the UCR Program through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the Summary Reporting System. There are approximately 19,000 police agencies in the US per the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The FBI’s crime statistics estimates, based on reported data for 2023, show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 3.0 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 estimates.  

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2023 estimated nationwide decrease of 11.6% compared to the previous year.  

In 2023, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 9.4% decrease.  

Aggravated assault figures decreased an estimated 2.8 percent in 2023. 

Robbery showed an estimated decrease of 0.3 percent nationally.

Overall property crime was down by 2.4 percent.

Burglary decreased by 7.6 percent.

Larceny dropped by 4.4 percent.

Motor Vehicle Theft increased by 12.6 percent.

In 2023, 16,009 agencies participated in the hate crime collection, with a population coverage of 95.2%. Law enforcement agencies submitted incident reports involving 11,862 criminal incidents and 13,829 related offenses as being motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.  

According to this dataset, reported hate crime incidents decreased 0.6% from 10,687 in 2022 to 10,627 in 2023.  

The complete analysis is located on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer. 

A Summation For Preliminary Full-Year 2023 Data From The FBI 

The FBI, in March of 2023, released a preliminary full-year crime report for 2023 in record time. Throughout decades of FBI crime data, the release of full-year data has never happened this early. Ordinarily, we would have to wait for late fall for an official full-year crime report. There was a presidential election in 2024.

It’s Overstated

It indicates that every category of crime was overstated via the preliminary report; the predicted decreases were more than the official full-year report. For example, the preliminary report predicted a 5.7 percent reduction in violent crime. The official report for 2023 puts the decrease at 3 percent.

The preliminary report offers a 13.2 percent reduction in homicides, whereas the official report offers a decrease of 11.6 percent. 

The preliminary report indicated a decrease of 4.7 percent for robberies. The official report offers a 0.3 percent decrease.

The lesson? Preliminary reports from the FBI or private organizations can overstate crime reductions or increases. 

The preliminary report also indicated that reductions in crime were much higher for nonmetropolitan areas than metropolitan areas, which was surprising.

Full-Year Report (October 2023) From The FBI for 2022 

The FBI offers 12 categories of crimes (13, including hate crimes). Four categories decreased, six categories increased, and one (burglary) was flat. Hate crimes increased.

The FBI’s crime statistics estimates for 2022 show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates.

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2022 estimated nationwide decrease of 6.1% compared to the previous year.

In 2022, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 5.4% decrease.

Aggravated assault in 2022 decreased an estimated 1.1% in 2022.

Robbery showed an estimated increase of 1.3% nationally.

The property crime rate increased considerably for the first time since 2012.

The rate of arson increased considerably.

The rate for burglaries was flat.

The rate of larcenies-thefts increased.

The rate of motor vehicle thefts increased considerably.

The FBI reported a 6.9% increase in hate crimes from 2021 to 2022 and a rise in law enforcement participating in reporting, Axios.

Summation Of National Yearly Violent Crime Data-2021 From Multiple Sources

I’m going to deviate a bit from the reports above to include additional data from other sources for my analysis of 2021 crime data.

To suggest that the numbers for 2021 are massively complex (based on their methodologies and problems collecting data) would be an understatement.

You could legitimately state that violent crime did not increase in 2021 based on numbers from the FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey.

But it’s equally correct to state that, per the FBI, homicides increased considerably between 2019 and 2021 (nearly 30 percent in 2020 and 4.3 percent in 2021) and that murders have been traditionally used by criminologists as an indicator of all violent crime. Rapes also increased in 2021.

The 2021 US firearm homicides (81 percent of all murders) were the highest since the 1990s, Centers For Disease Control (CDC) data show. They recorded an 8.3 percent increase in 2021, CNN.

The risk of victimization while a person was out in public rose by nearly 40% by April 2020, National Academy Of Sciences.

From 2020 to 2021, the violent victimization rate increased from 19.0 to 24.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons in urban areas while remaining unchanged in suburban or rural areas. The rate of serious (excluding common assaults) violent victimization in urban areas also increased, per the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey.

Per Gallup, there is a big increase in the criminal victimization of urban households in 2021, 30 percent compared to 22 percent in 2020. Seven percent of urban residents were violently victimized compared to 3% of U.S. adults. The collective data (urban crime victimization-computer crime) indicates a growing crime problem for at least half of American households (link below).

Per other reputable sources, there were increases in aggravated assaults, firearm assaults, and motor vehicle thefts (links below).

Yet it’s the official position of the US Department of Justice via the FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey that overall violent crime was flat for 2021.

Sources for the above are available at New US Crime Data.

Summation Of The Most Recent Violent And Property Crime Data From The National Crime Victimization Survey-2022-2024 (latest yearly official data) 

National Crime Victimization Survey Releases 2022 Crime Statistics-Largest Increase in Violent Crime In The Nation’s History

I’m going to start the discussion of the National Crime Victimization Survey with its report from 2022 because of a record increase in violent crime rates, and how rates for NCVS data for 2023 and 2024 remain largely consistent with 2022.

We seem to be at a new high for violent crime rates in the United States, which contradicts data from cities and numbers offered by the FBI.

The National Crime Victimization Survey, in a report for the calendar year 2022, offered the largest increase in violent crime in the nation’s history (44 percent), according to analyst Jeff Asher, and The Marshall Project. Interestingly, ChatGPT puts the increase at 42 percent.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics did not provide the percentage increase (but they have provided percentage increases multiple times in the past, i.e., a 28 percent increase in violent crime, 2015-2018.

Report (August 2023) from the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2022

As stated above, violent crime increased by 44 percent in 2022 according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, per Jeff Asher and The Marshall Project. 

A 44 percent increase in violence is the largest ever recorded.

The violent victimization rate increased from 16.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 2021 to 23.5 per 1,000 in 2022.

There were 6.6 million violent victimizations of persons age 12 or older in the United States in 2022, up from 4.6 million in 2021.

Many groups had large percentage increases in violent victimization.

Households in the United States experienced 13.4 million property victimizations in 2022, up from 11.7 million in 2021.

The rate of property victimization in 2022 was 101.9 victimizations per 1,000 households, higher than the rate in 2021 (90.3 per 1,000).

In 2022, about 2 in 5 (42%) violent victimizations were reported to police.

Motor vehicle theft victimization increased from a rate of 4.3 victimizations per 1,000 households in 2021 to 5.5 per 1,000 in 2022.

About 10% of violent victimizations involved a firearm in 2022, an increase from 2021 (7%).

In 2022, about 1.24% (3.5 million) of persons age 12 or older nationwide experienced at least one violent crime.

Report From the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2023

Per the press release (September 12, 2024) from the US Department of Justice for the new 2023 report, “Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) indicate that in 2023, the rate of nonfatal violent victimization in the United States was 22.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, which was similar to the 2022 rate of 23.5 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.”

Per the September 12, 2024, USDOJ press release headline, “Violent victimization unchanged year over year…”

That means that the record violent crime rates in US violence largely continue from 2022 to 2023 to 2024.

In 2023, there were 22.5 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in the United States.

About 9% of violent victimizations involved a firearm in 2023, similar to 2022.

The rate of property victimization in urban areas (emphasis added) increased from 176.1 per 1,000 households in 2022 to 192.3 per 1,000 in 2023.

The rates and numbers for overall violent crime remain similar for 2022 and 2023 with small decreases in most numbers “or” rates except for robberies, simple assault (the majority of violent crimes), and stranger violence. Vehicle thefts continued to increase.

Per the NCVS, households in the United States experienced 13.6 million property victimizations in 2023. The number of property victimizations was comparable to the number in 2022 but higher than the 12.8 million in 2019. Property crime includes burglary or trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of household theft.

Report From the National Crime Victimization Survey for 2024

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, in the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, released Criminal Victimization on September 29, 2025. 

4.

A Discussion Regarding Historic Lows In Crime

We had over 20 years of decline in crime before violence began to rise in 2011-2012 with some years of increases and some years of decreases after.

Violent crime and serious violent crime increased by 28 percent over three years (2015-2018) per the Bureau of Justice Statistics-National Crime Victimization Survey. The violent crime rate had declined for nearly two decades before increasing in 2011 and 2012. FBI data indicates that violence began to rise in 2012.

You will hear from a variety of sources that current violence is far below that of previous decades, which is true, yet fear of crime (see below) is currently at near record highs.

There is also data indicating that most Americans are victimized by crime each year, including violent, property, identity theft, and cyber crimes. Repeat victimizations may have an impact on understanding these numbers.

Tens of millions of Americans are victimized by violent and property crimes, cybercrime, and identity theft every year.

Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey states that we were at record historical lows for criminal activity. From 1993 to 2015, the rate of violent crime declined from 79.8 to 18.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

From 1993 to 2021, the rate of violent victimization declined from 79.8 to 16.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.

According to FBI numbers, the violent crime rate fell 48 percent between 1993 and 2016. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (National Crime Victimization Survey), the rate fell by 74 percent during that span.

5.

Latest Crime Data From Researchers Using Big City Police Crime Dashboards

Homicides and Shootings Are Down?

Note that the latest USDOJ National Crime Victimization Survey data for 2022 indicates that violent crime increased by 44 percent (to my knowledge, the largest increase in violent crime ever recorded). Rates for violence are essentially unchanged for 2023 and 2024 (latest report).

What you will read below from multiple sources deviates from the findings of the USDOJ’s National Crime Victimization Survey. They rely on crimes reported to law enforcement, and as stated, the great majority of what we call crime is not reported to the police. 

However, that does not mean to imply that the data offered below is incorrect. As of this writing, there are a multitude of cities offering reductions in crime rates and numbers. Homicides, shootings, and overall violent crimes are down considerably in many cities.

There are times when crime data is confusing, and in many cases, it depends on the source and how numbers are collected and presented. There are endless reasons as to why people do not report their victimizations to law enforcement; thus, reported crime findings will differ from total crime findings.

2024-2025 Crime Summations From Jeff Asher

See analyst Jeff Asher’s latest reports indicating that there are significant reductions in reported crime for 2024 and 2025. He includes summations of national reports and an analysis of emerging trends based on big-city crime dashboards. I recommend his work. He also includes summations of  FBI preliminary reports.

 

2023 Yearly Crime Summation From The Council On Criminal Justice

Note: Much of this study was inaccurate compared to the 2023 results from the FBI.

2024 Yearly Crime Summation From The Council On Criminal Justice

2024 Full Year Crime Summation- The Major Cities Chiefs Association

Click on the link for a list of crimes in individual cities. It’s interesting how cities are recording reductions in overall crime, yet there are increases in individual categories for most cities.

2025 Preliminary Crime Summation From The Major Cities Chiefs Association

Click on the link for a list of crimes in individual cities.

6.

FBI’s New Method Of Collecting and Reporting Crime Data-The National Incident-Based Reporting System

See below for summaries of FBI yearly statistics.

See here for the official explanation for the NIBRS from the FBI.

See here for a Congressional report.

The FBI is now using the National Incident-Based Reporting System, which is different than the previous reporting methods, see Counting Crime.

The emphasis for the National Incident-Based Reporting System is to create a comprehensive and qualitative overview of crime in the US. It will be a vast improvement over the previous reports. 

The National Incident-Based Reporting System includes multiple crimes connected to an incident, not just the most serious crime used in the old Summary Reporting System; thus, more crimes could be recorded.

Per an FBI estimate, 11 percent of all criminal episodes involved multiple offenses (editor’s note-I believe this estimate falls far below multiple charges per crime or incident common within the justice system). However, the NIBRS collects far more categories of crime than the older Summary Reporting System.

The National Incident-Based Reporting System is supposed to be the only reporting system used for national crime data.

Per the FBI, full-year data from 2022-2024-2025 was a mix of reports from the old and new reporting systems.

Current NIBRS Status

“Reported Crimes in the Nation (RCN), 2024” (a narrative version of 2024 crime reports from the FBI) includes data received from 16,675 law enforcement agencies that provided data through either the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) or the Summary Reporting System (SRS). These agencies represent 86.3% of agencies actively enrolled in the FBI’s UCR Program and cover a combined population of 325,100,512 (95.6%) inhabitants. Notably, every city agency covering a population of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants contributed a full 12 months of data to the FBI’s UCR Program in 2024.

In 2024, 14,601 law enforcement agencies submitted NIBRS data either through a state UCR Program or directly to the FBI. All 50 states are NIBRS certified and are submitting their agencies’ crime data via NIBRS. Additionally, the UCR Program has two agencies in the District of Columbia and one in the territory of Guam that directly reported UCR data through NIBRS.

Per Chat GPT, as of December 2, 2024, approximately 74.4 % of law-enforcement agencies were reporting data via NIBRS. As of May 2024, agencies using NIBRS covered 82% of the U.S. population, which reflects agency reporting reach, not the agency count itself.

The Problem

There was a concern that the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System did not have a sufficient number of law enforcement agencies participating in the past, thus leaving some to speculate that quarterly or yearly reports may be compromised. Only 52 percent of law enforcement agencies provided yearly data for 2021.

Per the Associated Press, some law enforcement agencies failed to provide data for 2022. However, a change in collection methods in compiling 2022 numbers helped, and the FBI said the new data represents 83.3% of all agencies covering 93.5% of the population. By contrast, last year’s numbers were from only 62.7% of agencies, representing 64.8% of Americans.

From Time Magazine: The following major cities did not report data to the FBI, or did not report data for the full year of 2021:

• Bakersfield, Calif.
• Baltimore
• Chicago
• Fresno, Calif.
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Long Beach, Calif.
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York City
• Oakland, Calif.
• Omaha, Neb.
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• Sacramento, Calif.
• San Francisco
• San Jose, Calif.
• Tucson, Ariz.
• Washington, D.C.

Per The Marshall Project–Many Large Police Agencies Still Missing From National Crime Data For 2022.

Of the 19 biggest law enforcement agencies — each of which police more than 1 million people — seven were missing from the FBI’s 2022 crime data. The missing agencies include the LAPD, the NYPD, and police departments in Phoenix, San Jose and New York’s Suffolk County.

Analyst Jeff Asher provided an update of police agency participation in the FBI’s Incident-Based Reporting System in March of 2024. It seems that larger agencies are reaching an 80 percent participation, while smaller police agencies are still far behind (a little over 50 percent).

Currently, the National Incident-Based Reporting System covers the vast majority of the US population.

7.

A Focus On The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey-NCVS

Why do I write about the National Crime Victimization Survey? Because it’s probably the best count of “all” crimes, not just reported crimes, as offered by the FBI. However, their reports are often ignored because few are familiar with the survey. It has a 50-year history of analyzing crime.

The survey does not collect data on homicides (you can’t interview dead people). It does not collect information on business crimes. It offers a separate report on identity theft crimes (as does the FBI).

See below for summaries of the National Crime Victimization Survey yearly statistics.

See Is Violence Rising Or Falling? Understanding Quirks Within The National Crime Victimization Survey for the full article addressing the complexities of National Crime Victimization Survey Data.

The vast majority of crimes are not reported to law enforcement. Approximately 48% of violent victimizations were reported to police in 2024, which was not significantly different from the percentage in 2023. 

A three-year summation by the NCVS puts it at 38 percent. It’s much less for property crimes (30 percent), thus the need for a national survey to count “all” crimes.

The survey uses a methodology similar to the US Census. The US Census states that the NCVS is the nation’s premier count of crimes in the US.

It’s a series of yearly documents that began in 1973 and includes statistics on nonfatal violent crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) and property crimes (burglary or trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of household theft).

The report also describes the characteristics of crimes and victims. The report does not count homicides (you can’t interview dead people). It excludes those under age 12. Business crime is not included, although digital crime is counted in a separate report. The survey also offers special reports on a variety of crimes beyond those usually counted.

Annual National Criminal Victimization Survey estimates are based on the number and characteristics of crimes that respondents experienced during the prior 6 months, excluding the month in which they were interviewed.

Some suggest that crimes reported to law enforcement (as compiled by the FBI) are “important” enough to call the police, and that surveys count the “real” number of crimes.

People do not report crimes to the police for an endless number of reasons, one is that most violent crime happens among people who know each other.

Your drunk friend could hit you with a beer bottle (an aggravated assault), but you choose to handle it personally. But when the National Crime Victimization Survey calls and asks about recent victimizations, you tell them about the assault (there is no effort to identify the offender).

Both the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics release separate full-year crime reports in the fall for the preceding year; thus, both release what is essentially old data, yet” the FBI’s crimes reported to law enforcement will get significantly more media coverage because people are more familiar with it. In August of 2025, the FBI stated that it would begin monthly reports.

It would take pages to describe the challenges both agencies are having with their crime statistics. I’ll summarize with the observation that the FBI moved to a new, comprehensive, and robust reporting system (National Incident-Based Reporting System), but a few local law enforcement agencies in 2024-2025 haven’t completed their adoption. 

The Bureau of Justice Statistics redesigned how it collects data through the National Crime Victimization Survey (redesign reports are available on its website).

My description here of the complexities is woefully understated; see below for more.

What’s Wrong With The National Crime Victimization Survey?

The short answer is nothing. The world of survey research is complex, even more so because of the pandemic, with numerous references from major polling organizations changing survey strategies.

As stated above, the National Crime Victimization Survey is contemplating a redesign after 50 years of service. There have been previous redesigns.

The National Crime Victimization Survey is necessary because the vast majority of violent and property crimes are unreported to law enforcement. To gain an understanding of “all” crime, a national survey is imperative.

The National Crime Victimization Survey offers far larger numbers of crimes reported to law enforcement and national reports issued by the FBI. Generally speaking, the larger the numbers, the more accurate the results.

The National Crime Victimization Survey offers separate reports giving readers a qualitative assessment of dozens of variables about crime. Through these documents, we gain a fairly decent sense of who’s victimized, data on criminal offenders, and additional issues.

But the National Crime Victimization Survey, like all polling data, has its imperfections and disagreements with other national reports on crime. Generally speaking, all polling data was significantly affected by COVID and other national events.

There are times when other authoritative crime data indicate that crime is decreasing, and the National Crime Victimization Survey states that crime is increasing.

There are times when other authoritative crime data indicate that crime is increasing, while the National Crime Victimization Survey states that crime is decreasing.

No one is suggesting that the data is incorrect, just different than what’s offered from other sources.

Readers need to understand this and compare multiple sources to gain the best possible understanding of crime in the United States.

8.

The Rest Of This Report

The rest of this report focuses on violent crime from reputable sources and who is being impacted.

Included are reports from Gallup, the Centers for Disease Control, and additional sources, including fear of crime, crimes reported to law enforcement, and reports claiming reduced crime before national elections.

Who’s Impacted Most By Crime? Data On Victims Of Crime And Violence

Note: The best explanation as to who is victimized by crime is offered by the latest edition of the National Crime Victimization Survey.

Note: I could include a new report daily as to who’s impacted but most of the data below seems representative of the victimization experience.

ABC News: While Blacks account for 14% of the U.S. population, they comprise 60% of those killed by firearm homicides annually, according to an analysis published in February by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The study, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2017 to 2021, showed Black males 18- to 24-years-old are 23 times more likely to die by firearm homicide than their white male peers. ABC News.

Pew: The number of children and teens killed by gunfire in the United States increased 50% between 2019 and 2021, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest annual mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2021, 46% of all gun deaths among children and teens involved Black victims, even though only 14% of the U.S. under-18 population that year was Black. Homicide was the largest single category of gun deaths among children and teens in 2021, accounting for 60% of the total that year, Pew .

The victims and suspects of homicides and nonfatal shootings in the District of Columbia are primarily male, Black, and between the ages of 18-34. Nearly 92 percent of victims and suspects in homicides and 88 percent of victims and suspects in nonfatal shootings were male. About 96 percent of victims and suspects in both homicides and nonfatal shootings were Black, despite Black residents comprising only 46 percent of the overall population in the District. Approximately 66 percent of homicide victims/suspects and 64 percent of nonfatal shooting victim/suspects were between the ages of 18-34, with a mean age of 29.5 and 29.8, respectively. Across homicides and shootings, both victims and suspects are demographically similar overall, DC Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

News reports suggest that the cities where protests and or riots have occurred are being hit the hardest, Governing.Com.

It’s African American communities that are bearing the brunt of the violence, NBC News.

The highest homicide gun death rates continue to be in young Black men, at 142 per 100,000 for those in their early 20s, Associated Press. Among Black women, the rate of firearm-related homicides more than tripled since 2010, and the rate of gun-related suicides more than doubled since 2015.

The number of children shot in New York City has doubled since 2017. That year, 75 shooting victims were children. By mid-December of 2022, at least 149 children had been shot. New York Times.

The rise in violent crime across the U.S. has been concentrated in “low-income communities of color” which have disproportionately experienced the impact of school closures and reductions in basic services during the pandemic, according to a study by the University of California-Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, The Crime Report.

In certain U.S. cities, young men are over three times more likely to be shot dead than American soldiers deployed to war zones in the Middle East, new research reveals. The researchers looked at the demographics of the young men in the zip codes under investigation, they found that the risk of violent death and injury was almost entirely tied to individuals from minority racial and ethnic groups. Black and Hispanic males represented 96.2 percent of those who were fatally shot and 97.3 percent of those who experienced non-fatal gun injuries across all four cities.

There were 722 more homicides in nine U.S. cities last year, according to police data. More than 85% of the increase was in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, The Marshall Project.

Black males were overwhelmingly the No. 1 demographic killed in most cities. In Chicago, which tallied the most homicides since 1996, 648 of the city’s 797 homicide victims were Black. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 105 of the city’s 133 homicides were Black males. In Columbus, Ohio, 135 of the city’s 204 homicides were of Black males. In Louisville, Kentucky, 133 of the city’s 197 homicide victims were Black males. In St. Paul, Minnesota, 17 of the city’s 38 homicides were of Black males. Chicago’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, ones that have borne the disproportionate brunt of gun violence throughout the city, reports the Chicago Tribune. The increases have reached a point where the homicide rate in the most violent parts of the city at the end of 2020 was higher than it was in those places in 1991, a year often considered one of the most violent years in Chicago history. In Los Angeles, 397 people were killed in 2021 — the most in a year since 2007.

Hispanic males were the top demographic killed in L.A. last year, 183 in total, in a city that has a much larger Hispanic than Black population, Fox News.

Gun violence has particularly affected young people this year. Nearly 300 children ages 11 and younger were killed, and more than 660 were injured, says the Gun Violence Archive. Among teens ages 12 to 17, more than 1,000 were killed, and nearly 3,000 were injured.

Gun homicides involving intimate partners rose 25% in 2020, compared with the previous year, to the highest level in almost three decades, newly analyzed FBI data reveals,  The Guardian.

9.

Violent Crime Never Increased?

It’s fair to state that some people and organizations disagree with any suggestion that violence has increased based on historical lows in crime (until 2011-2012) and the uncertainty of COVID-crime-riots and demonstrations regarding the police use of force. Several will point to considerable decreases in violent crime during the COVID lockdowns or recent FBI data.

There are people (and organizations) who insist that crime has decreased, not increased, and that violence in cities was overblown.

Based on 2022,2023, and 2024 data from the National Crime Victimization Survey with its 44 percent increase in violent crime in 2022 and consistency in violent crime rates for 2023 and 2024, the discussion was moot, but now we have decreasing crime per data from the FBI.

For those looking for a more nuanced analysis, VOX offers the following: The data backs up the headlines, suggesting that homicide numbers are significantly higher in at least some major US cities. But it’s not clear if this is part of a nationwide phenomenon, or if it’s something isolated to urban centers because we don’t have good data outside the large cities. To make matters more confusing, other types of crime, including violent crime overall, appear to have decreased in many of the same cities, VOX.  Also, see FiveThirtyEight.

10.

We Have Never Lived In Safer Times?

There are those insisting that we have never lived in safer times due to an almost continuous (and considerable) twenty-year-plus decline in crime, but that argument ended since the 28 percent increase in violence and serious violence in 2015-2018 per the National Crime Victimization Survey and 2011 data from the FBI. 

But most Americans remain convinced that overall crime and violence, especially in urban areas, is rising. Those fears are validated by Gallup (near record fear of crime) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey (record increases in violence).

But, as stated, FBI full-year crime for 2023 saw decreases in all crime categories except for auto theft. All categories fell in 2024.

11.

The Complexity Of Understanding National Crime Statistics

Yes, it’s confusing. Sometimes massively so. Even those of us who spend a lifetime examining national crime statistics become bewildered by the complexity of crime and its accurate reporting.

Most federal crime reports and websites are complex and difficult to read and understand, the reason for creating this report. What’s below summarizes recent years.

Examples of the Complexity Of Crime Statistics

This section is not meant to confuse readers, but there are times when the two US Department of Justice primary sources for crime release data need some interpretation. 

First, the vast majority of crimes are not reported to law enforcement. 48 percent of violent crimes and 30 percent of property crimes are reported per the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey for 2024. There are an array of factors to understand why crimes are not reported to the FBI, which are offered below.

FBI data is NOT an account of crime; it’s an overview of reported crime, the reason why the FBI changed the name of their yearly reports from Crime in the United States to “Reported” Crime in the United States in their 2024 yearly report.

The National Crime Victimization Survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice is a measure of all crimes with some exceptions (i.e., homicides), but few know of the survey; thus, their findings are often omitted in crime discussions.

Reported crimes through the FBI are now being reported more quickly than ever before. 2023 crimes were released in the fall of 2024, but preliminary full-year crime figures were offered in March of 2024, just in time for the November 2024 presidential election.

To give you an indication of the complexity of crime statistics, there are huge increases in violent crime in 2022 (44 percent per Jeff Asher and The Marshall Project) and large increases in violence for groups per the National Crime Victimization Survey.

A 44 percent increase in violence would be the largest ever recorded, and it largely continued for 2023. The 2024 violent crime rates also remained consistent.

Yet, according to the FBI, violence decreased slightly in 2022. Per the FBI, it decreased for all forms of violent crime for 2023 for an overall decrease of 3 percent. Overall, violence decreased by 4.5 percent in 2024 per the FBI.

Cybercrime or Internet crimes almost doubled from 2019-2023 via the FBI.

As to FBI data for 2021, only 52 percent of law enforcement agencies participated in the FBI’s new National Incident-Based Reporting System by submitting a full year of data. Major police agencies like New York and Los Angeles did not participate. However, the rate of police agency (and population) participation has improved considerably by the FBI using the previous Summary Reporting System. Some police agencies continue to struggle with full-year participation in the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics states that the violent victimization rate dropped by 22 percent in 2020, Criminal Victimization 2020. This is the largest decrease in violence ever reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. It was released in October 2021.

Per 2020 FBI final statistics released in September 2021, the number of homicides increased nearly 30% from 2019, the largest single-year increase the agency has recorded since it began tracking these crimes in the 1960s. Overall, violent crime and aggravated assaults also increased. Historically, homicides have been used as an indicator of overall violence.

Per the National Crime Victimization Survey in 2019, violence decreased, then was flat, but decreased again, all in the same year.

12.

Fear of Crime

I spoke to an analyst regarding national crime statistics, who told me that crime data was irrelevant. The most important indicator of crime in the United States was the fear of crime.

Note that previous entries have been removed due to age, archived articles, and updated Gallup statistics.

What’s below is based on Latest Data On American Fear Of Crime-Fear Remains High But Improved published in November 2025.

Overview

Fear or concerns about crime were at record highs in 2023 and have improved per Gallup. 

But half of the country sees crime as serious and increasing, or “extremely” or “very” serious.

There are an endless number of terms used by survey research organizations to gauge concerns, but “extremely or very serious” is at the top of the list for intensity.  Per most surveys of American concerns, the “extremely or very serious” category is usually cited by a small number of those participating.

National Priorities

If you follow national priorities (using a different set of criteria), the numbers regarding crime and related issues are concerning. Per Pew, (2024), improving the job situation, improving the energy situation, protecting the environment, dealing with problems affecting poor people, improving transportation, improving the military, addressing climate change, addressing race issues, and global trade all rank less than crime as American priorities.

National priority issues related to crime remain highly important, according to Pew. Terrorism came in as second, reducing crime was 7th, dealing with illegal immigration was 8th, and reducing the availability of illegal drugs was 9th.

Gallup’s Global Crime And Fear Index (2025)

This is a separate and recent report from Gallup. Fear of crime decayed for the US and Canada (it’s mostly a US finding based on population and methodology). Most countries saw improvements in perceptions of crime.

On a global level (excluding North America and parts of Africa), people feel safer today than they have in years.

For the current four-question Law and Order Index in 2024, focusing on crime and fear, the US ranked 54th out of 144 countries. Eight countries had the same score as the US; thus, the United States had a de facto rank of 46.

The United States ranked 64th solely using “Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?” Iraq, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Libya, Albania, and multiple other countries scored higher than the US. Four countries had the same score as the US; thus, the United States had a de facto rank of 60.

Is Anything Changing To Prompt Less Fear of Crime?

The US lost 25,000 police officers and employees according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but there are reports that we “may” be seeing some stabilization in the numbers of police officers (especially for smaller agencies) rather than reductions. The rate of decline has slowed, and hiring has increased per Google AI, but it will take years to regain previous staffing patterns. 

Crimes reported (the vast majority are not) to law enforcement in cities are seeing substantial reductions.

However, at the national level, per the FBI, the reductions in violent crime are small, ranging from approximately 3 to 4 percent in 2023 and 2024. Violent crime is down 8 percent thus far in 2025 (but those numbers will change when the full report for 2025 is offered in the Fall of 2026). Early numbers from the FBI are usually an overestimate and should be used with caution.

There is a slight growth in correctional numbers for those on parole and probation per the Bureau of Justice Statistics, indicating that more offenders are being held accountable (upcoming article). Also, per BJS, the inmate count is inching up.  At year’s end 2023, correctional authorities in the United States had jurisdiction over 1,254,200 persons in state or federal prisons, an increase of 2% or 24,100 persons from 2022 (1,230,100 persons). 

Crimes reported to law enforcement are beginning to improve slightly, per the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

There is some evidence that crimes solved are increasing. It’s a small increase for violent crimes, but it’s improving. It’s been dismal for many years.

Crime was an immensely important topic in the last national election, with President Trump pledging to support police officers who “may” be returning to proactive policing. Proactive policing is one of the most successful modalities we have to reduce crime, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Per criminology studies, the most important element in changing the attitudes of criminals is the certainty of apprehension. There are early signs that accountability is improving after police agencies greatly lessened their proactivity after public disturbances related to the police use of force.

Via the Associated Press, there is, however, data indicating that concern about crime in cities is declining. 

Per the USDOJ, Violent Crime Remains At Very High Levels

However, per the USDOJ’s National Crime Victimization Survey, violent crime rates increased by 44 percent in 2022, and rates have remained level in 2023 and 2024 (last official report).

It’s the largest increase in violent crime in the nation’s history.

One source states that NCVS violent crime rates increased 80 percent for urban areas. ChatGPT verifies it, but the 2020 baseline comparison is problematic due to the pandemic’s impact on crime and survey methodology.

Per the NCVS, violence increased in urban areas per their 2024 report. This is in stark contrast to the crime drop in cities based on crimes reported to law enforcement.

Gallup’s crime numbers (a separate 2025 Gallup report) use the National Crime Victimization Survey as to trend lines that show 2022-2024 increases in violent crime.

The Highest Rate Of Fear Of Crime Was In 2023

Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe crime was an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the U.S., according to a Gallup poll in November 2023. The 63 percent rate is the highest collected by Gallup, with the previous high of 60 percent found in 2000, 2010, and 2016. 

A small proportion of respondents considered crime extremely serious in their local communities — 17 percent — but more than half of them believe crime has gone up in their area. Nationally, about three-quarters of Americans believed crime has gone up, underlining the tough-on-crime political narrative of conservative politicians.

Context-Other Sources

 

Both of these measures worsened after 2018, as perceptions of rising crime in the early 2020s hit levels last reached in the 1990s and views of the seriousness of crime hit a record-high 63%. The latest findings, from Gallup’s Oct. 2025 annual Crime poll, show that Americans now view national crime conditions more favorably than at any point in recent years, returning to levels similar to the early 2000s.

In addition to the 49% of U.S. adults who currently think there is more crime in the U.S., 33% say there is less and 8% volunteer that there is about the same amount of crime. Besides the 17% of U.S. adults who think crime is “extremely” or 32% “very” serious, 38% say it is “moderately,” 8% “not too” and 2% “not at all” serious.

Views of National Crime Have Improved Among Most Subgroups Since 2023

Perceptions of crime as a problem in the U.S. and its trajectory in the previous year have improved across nearly all demographic subgroups since 2023.

In 2023, majorities of U.S. adults across party identification, gender, annual household income and type of community groups said the crime problem in the U.S. was at least very serious. Among those groups today, majorities of Republicans, women, those with annual household incomes under $40,000 and residents of rural areas say the same.

Views of Local Crime Also Improved

Americans have consistently seen crime in their local areas as less serious than crime in the country at large. That is still the case, and there have also been declines in perceptions that local crime is a serious problem and that it is increasing.

The 30% of Americans now reporting that there is more crime in their local area than a year ago is down 19 points since last year. Meanwhile, the 12% of Americans who say the crime problem in their local area is extremely or very serious is not significantly different from last year’s 14%, but it is down from the trend high point of 17% in 2023.

Fear of Walking Alone at Night in Local Area Continues to Decline

Another Gallup question on Americans’ perceptions of local crime gauges their comfort walking alone at night in the area where they live. This measure, which has been tracked since 1965, finds 31% of Americans currently reporting that there is an area within a mile of their home where they would be afraid to walk alone at night, and 68% saying there is not.

Two years ago, the percentage saying they were afraid to walk alone in a local area at night reached 40%, its highest point since 1993. Last year, it was at 35%; and now, it is just two points away from the trend low recorded in 2020.

Being Victimized 

Overall, Americans worry most about being the victim of identity theft (69%) and being tricked into providing financial information to scammers (53%). These are the only crimes included in the survey about which majorities say they worry frequently or occasionally.

Meanwhile, 43% of all U.S. adults worry about a school-aged child of theirs being physically harmed at school, but this rises to 60% of parents of school-aged children.

Fewer Americans say they worry about crimes, such as having a car stolen (39%) or their home burglarized (34%), being a victim of a hate crime (30%), or getting mugged (29%), attacked while driving (27%), murdered (22%) or sexually assaulted (21%). Yet collectively, violent and property crimes far outweigh the top three categories.

Gallup’s Bottom Line

Americans’ views of crime in the U.S. have improved notably for the second straight year, reversing the pessimism seen earlier in the decade. Less than half now describe such crime as a very or extremely serious problem or believe it has risen in the past year.

Perceptions have brightened across nearly all demographic subgroups, and assessments of local crime have followed, as far fewer adults report increases in crime where they live and a growing share feel safe walking alone at night.

These shifts mark a continued return to the more positive attitudes last seen in the early 2000s, suggesting the public sees national crime conditions stabilizing after several years of heightened unease. National crime statistics confirm Americans’ belief, as FBI data show a 4.5% decrease in U.S. crime in 2024 (Editor’s note: The National Crime Victimization Survey indicates increases and very high rates of violent crime for its latest reports).

Still, Americans’ improved assessments of national and local crime do not eliminate personal anxiety about victimization. Majorities of adults remain worried about being targets of financial crimes such as identity theft or scams, and parents continue to fear for their children’s safety at school.

Conclusions

The criminological literature is very clear: fear of crime concerns can destroy cities, the psychological well-being of citizens, test scores of students, economic development, and jobs are all impacted.

Criminology also states that people judge their concerns about crime based on a variety of variables, including signs of disorder, media reports, young people hanging out in the community, graffiti, or any other condition that makes citizens uncomfortable. Official crime counts are not nearly as important as what people feel about the conditions in or near their communities.

To some observers, fear or concerns about crime may be the most important index of crime in America. 

But when half of the country sees crime as increasing, or “extremely” or “very” serious, and 38 percent say it is “moderately serious,” we have a concerning problem to address. If we do not, cities, school test scores, and the overall economy will deteriorate.

Data indicates that an increased police presence lowers fear, but that’s challenging because of a loss of police officers and long response times in some cities.

Fear Of Crime Among Groups

42% Of Black Adults Say Crime Is A Major Problem. Some 43% of urban residents now say crime is a major problem in their community, compared with 35% in 2018. Needless to say, Pew addressed “major” problems. If we included “problems” with crime and violence, the percentage would be much higher, Pew.

Latinos say crime and gun violence is their number two concern — behind COVID-19 and before immigration, social justice or voting rights — in our inaugural Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo, Axios

About eight in ten Asian Americans say violence against them is increasing in the U.S., an April survey found.

13.

Identity Theft-Fraud-Cyber Crime

23 Million Americans Are Victims Of Identity Theft Costing Over 15 Billion Dollars, 2022, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Per Gallup, (2016) beyond the 29 percent of households victimized by violent and property crimes, 27 percent of households had their credit card stolen by hackers and 17 percent of households were victims of identity theft.

Gallup refers to these figures as a direct experience with crime.

Per Gallup (2021) beyond the 23 percent of households victimized by violent and property crimes, 28 percent of households had their credit card stolen by hackers and 17 percent were victims of identity theft.

Per the FBI in 2024, cybercrimes-Internet crimes almost doubled between 2019-2023.

14.

Federal Crime Data Presented Before Elections

It’s interesting how the federal government presents crime data before elections:

Claimed Pre-2024 National Election Decreases in Violent Crime From The FBI And The National Crime Victimization Survey

The FBI broke all records in offering full-year preliminary crime decreases for 2023 in March of 2024. It recorded decreases for all crime categories except for vehicle theft. It’s usually offered in the late summer or fall for the preceding year.

The data from the full-year 2022-2023 crime statistics from the National Crime Victimization Survey never posted the percentage increases in violence, as they have done multiple times in the past for both increases and decreases. Violence increased 44 percent.

Claimed Pre-2022 National Election Decreases in Violent Crime From The FBI

Violent crime decreased by a marginal amount in 2022, but most of the FBI crime categories increased, not decreased. The media only reported a slight overall decrease.

Claimed Pre-2022 National Election Decreases in Violent Crime From The National Crime Victimization Survey

The National Crime Victimization Survey clearly articulated big increases for groups, “but” they never acknowledged that violence increased by 44 percent. That finding came from independent analysts. 

Claimed Pre-2021 Midterm National Election Decreases In Violent Crime From BJS

The Bureau of Justice Statistics press release “and” summation report “and” the full report in late September of 2022 start with “from 1993 to 2021, the rate of violent victimization declined from 79.8 to 16.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.”

While statistically correct, people want to know what’s happening now (or in recent years), considering that crime issues are constantly in the news (i.e., a 50 percent increase in homicides and a roughly 36% increase in aggravated assaults from 2019-2022 in cities).

Data from BJS for 2021 indicated that violence (and serious violence) in urban areas increased in 2021, and should have been the lead.

But both the FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey suggest that violent crime was flat in 2021, when many additional sources insist that violence increased considerably in 2021.

Claimed Pre-2020 National Election Decreases In Violent Crime From The FBI And The National Crime Victimization Survey

Both the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics released data before the presidential election in 2020, indicating that violence decreased. Both clarified via emails that there were definitional issues and that violence did not decrease.

Both claimed decreases in crime via their latest reports in the fall of 2020, the FBI for the first six months of 2020 via their September 15, 2020, press release, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics for all of 2019 via their September 14, 2020, press release.

Clarifications via email from both agencies suggest that violent crime was essentially flat for 2019 (National Crime Victimization Survey) and for the first six months of 2020 via the FBI.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics claimed decreases in violence for 2019 via Criminal Victimization 2020.

15.

2017 DOJ Report-Repeat Victimizations: 50 Percent of All Violent Victimization

From 2005 to 2014, an average of 3.2 million persons age 12 or older experienced one or more nonfatal violent victimizations each year, per the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

About 1 in 5 of these victims (19 percent) experienced repeat victimization, defined as two or more violent victimizations during the year.

Repeat victims accounted for a disproportionate percentage of all violent victimizations that occurred each year.

In 2014, 19 percent of violent crime victims who experienced repeat victimization accounted for 50 percent of all violent victimizations, Bureau Of Justice Statistics.

Just note that repeat victimizations “are” individual crimes even though they may happen to the same crime victims. Also, note that hardly anyone has used this data. But repeat victimizations are an issue when counting crime.

16.

FBI and National Crime Victimization Survey Data Plus Links

Brief Summation-FBI-Crimes Reported To Law Enforcement Based On Final-Official Reports-Focus Is On Violent Crime

• 2024-Violent crime decreased an estimated 4.5%. Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 14.9%. Rape decreased an estimated 5.2%. Robbery decreased an estimated 8.9%. Aggravated assault decreased an estimated 3.0%. Property crime decreased an estimated 8.1%
• 2023-Violent crime decreased 3.0%. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2023 estimated nationwide decrease of 11.6%. The rape category saw an estimated 9.4% decrease. Aggravated assault decreased an estimated 2.8%. Robbery showed a decrease of 0.3%. Hate crime incidents decreased 0.6%. Property crime was down by 2.4 percent. 
• 2022-The FBI offers 12 categories of crimes (13 including hate crimes). Four categories decreased, six categories increased and one (burglary) was flat. Hate crimes increased. The FBI’s crime statistics estimates for 2022 show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates. Murder decreased 6.1%
• 2021-Homicides increased 4.3 percent in 2021. Rapes also increased. Overall, violence in the nation was flat.
• 2020-The number of homicides increased by nearly 30% from 2019. In 2020, violent crime was up 5.6 percent.
• 2019-Violent crime was flat ( decreased 0.5 percent) for 2019.
• 2018-Violent crime decreased by 3.3 percent for 2018.
• 2017-Violent crimes decreased by 0.2 percent in 2017.
• 2016-Violent crime increased in 2016.
• 2015-Violent crime increased in 2015.
• 2013-2014-Violent crime decreased in 2013 and 2014.
• 2012-Lowest murder rate since 1960, but violent crime increased in 2012.

Brief Summation-National Crime Victimization Survey-Focus Is On Violent Crime

• In 2022, 2023, and 2024, violent crime statistics were virtually unchanged. In 2022, there was a  44 percent increase in violent crime, according to researchers. 
• 2021-The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) states that the violent victimization rate increased from 19.0 to 24.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons in urban areas while remaining unchanged in suburban or rural areas. The rate of serious violent victimization in urban areas also increased. Overall violence for the nation was flat.
• 2020-The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) states that the violent victimization rate dropped 22 percent in 2020.
• 2019- There was no statistically significant change in number or rate of total violent victimizations from 2018 to 2019 including simple assault. The National Crime Victimization Survey states the rate of violent crime excluding simple assault declined 15% for 2019. However, new data from Criminal Victimization-2020 indicates that the numbers and rates for violent crime decreased in 2019, contradicting what they previously said.
• 2018-Violent Crime: From 2015 to 2018, the total number of violent victimizations increased by 28%. The rate of total violent victimizations also increased. The number of violent incidents increased from 5.2 million in 2017 to 6.0 million in 2018. Serious violent crime increases. Property crime continues to decrease.
• 2017-For the second straight year, the number of victims of violent crime was higher than in 2015. Most of the sixteen categories of violent crime rates increased from 2015 to 2017. Some were flat. Three decreased. Property crime decreased.
• 2016-Categories of violent crime increased. Property crime increased for the first time since 2013. There was no statistically significant change in the rate of overall violent crime from 2015, yet the rate increased (18.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older) to 2016 (19.7 per 1,000).
• 2015-Violent crime flat, property crime decreased.
• 2014-Violent and property crime declined.
• 2013-Violent and property crime declined.
• 2011-2012-The violent crime rate had declined for nearly two decades before increasing in 2011 and 2012.

17.

FBI-Crimes Reported to Police-Extended Summary of Recent Years Based On Final-Official Reports-Focus Is On Violent Crime

2024: Violent crime decreased an estimated 4.5%. Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 14.9%. Rape decreased an estimated 5.2%. Robbery decreased an estimated 8.9%. Aggravated assault decreased an estimated 3.0%. An estimated 1,221,345 violent crime offenses were committed in 2024, indicating a rate of 359.1 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, down from the 2023 estimated offense rate of 379.5 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. An estimated 419,423 arrests for violent crime offenses were made in 2024. Property crime consists of burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Nationwide, from 2023 to 2024, the estimated volume of property crime offenses showed the following changes: Property crime decreased an estimated 8.1%. Burglary decreased an estimated 8.6%. Larceny-theft decreased an estimated 5.5%. Motor vehicle theft decreased an estimated 18.6%. An estimated 5,986,400 property crime offenses were committed in 2024, indicating an offense rate of 1,760.1 property crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, down from the 2023 estimated offense rate of 1,934.1 property crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. An estimated 910,654 arrests for property crime offenses were made in 2024.

2023: The FBI’s crime statistics estimates, based on reported data for 2023, show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 3.0% in 2023 compared to 2022 estimates.  Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2023 estimated nationwide decrease of 11.6% compared to the previous year.  In 2023, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 9.4% decrease.  Aggravated assault figures decreased an estimated 2.8% in 2023. Robbery showed an estimated decrease of 0.3% nationally.  Reported hate crime incidents decreased 0.6% from 10,687 in 2022 to 10,627 in 2023. There was an overall decrease in property crime of 2.4%. Burglary decreased 7.6%. Larceny decreased 4.4%. Motor Vehicle Theft increased 12.6%.

 2022: The FBI offers 12 categories of crimes (13 including hate crimes). Four categories decreased, six categories increased and one (burglary) was flat. Hate crimes increased. The FBI’s crime statistics estimates for 2022 show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2022 estimated nationwide decrease of 6.1% compared to the previous year. In 2022, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 5.4% decrease. Aggravated assault in 2022 decreased an estimated 1.1% in 2022. Robbery showed an estimated increase of 1.3% nationally. The property crime rate increased considerably for the first time since 2012. The rate of arson increased considerably. The rate for burglaries was flat. The rate for larcenies-thefts increased The rate of motor vehicle thefts increased considerably. The FBI reported a 6.9% increase in hate crimes from 2021 to 2022 and a rise in law enforcement participating in reporting, Axios. Associated Press-The Estimated Number Of juvenile Victims Of Fatal Gun Violence Rose 11.8 Percent

2021: Based on 52 percent of law enforcement agencies providing a full year of data for the FBI’s new National Incident-Based Reporting System, overall, the analysis shows violent and property crimes remained consistent between 2020 and 2021. While the aggregate estimated violent crime volume decreased 1% for the nation from 1,326,600 in 2020 to 1,313,200 in 2021, the estimated number of murders increased from 22,000 in 2020 to 22,900 in 2021. The increase in murders constitutes a 4.3% increase. The robbery rate decreased 8.9% from 2020 to 2021, which heavily contributed to the decrease in overall violent crime despite increases in murder and rape rates at the national level.

2020: Per FBI final statistics released in September 2021, the number of homicides increased nearly 30% from 2019, a total not seen since the mid-1990s.In 2020, violent crime was up 5.6 percent from the 2019 number. The estimated number of aggravated assault offenses rose 12.1 percent, and the volume of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased 29.4 percent. The estimated number of robbery offenses fell 9.3 percent and the estimated volume of rape (revised definition) offenses decreased 12.0 percent. Property crimes continued to decrease. Motor vehicle thefts rose 11.8 percent.

2019: For all of 2019, violent crime was flat (-0.5 percent) and property crime was down 4.1 percent. The violent crime rate was down 1.0 percent and the property crime rate was down 4.5 percent. Aggravated assaults (the vast majority of reported violent crimes) were up 1.3 percent. Homicides were flat-up 0.3 percent.

2018: Violent crime declined 3.3 percent between 2017 and 2018. Property crime decreased 6.3 percent during the same time period

2017: After two consecutive years of increases, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation decreased by 0.2 percent in 2017 when compared with 2016 data, according to FBI figures. Property crimes dropped 3.0 percent, marking the 15th consecutive year the collective estimates for these offenses declined.

2016: For all of 2016, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation increased for the second straight year, rising 4.1 percent in 2016 when compared with 2015 data, according to FBI figures. Property crimes dropped 1.3 percent, marking the 14th consecutive year the collective estimates for these offenses declined. In 2016, there were an estimated 1,248,185 violent crimes. Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased by 8.6 percent when compared with estimates from 2015. Aggravated assault and rape (legacy definition) offenses increased 5.1 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, and robbery increased 1.2 percent.

2015: After two years of decline (reported crime was mostly flat in 2014 with a slight decrease), the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation increased 3.9 percent in 2015 when compared with 2014 data, according to FBI figures. Property crimes dropped 2.6 percent, marking the thirteenth straight year the collective estimates for these offenses declined. In 2015, there were an estimated 1,197,704 violent crimes. Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter increased 10.8 percent when compared with estimates from 2014. Rape (legacy definition) and aggravated assault increased 6.3 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, while robbery increased 1.4 percent.

2014: The FBI reports preliminary figures indicating that law enforcement agencies throughout the nation showed an overall decrease of 4.6 percent in the number of violent crimes for the first 6 months of 2014 when compared with figures reported for the same time in 2013. The violent crime category includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The number of property crimes in the United States from January to June of 2014 decreased by 7.5 percent when compared with data for the same time period in 2013. However, when the FBI released its full report for 2014, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation decreased by 0.2 percent in 2014 when compared with 2013 data. Aggravated assaults and rapes increased. Property crimes decreased by 4.3 percent, marking the 12th straight year the collective estimates for these offenses declined. Based on the full report in 2014, and with endless news reports documenting increases in homicide and violence in cities throughout the country, we predicted an increase in violent crime for 2015. 

2013: Per the FBI, the estimated number of violent crimes in 2013 decreased by 4.4 percent when compared with 2012 figures, and the estimated number of property crimes decreased by 4.1 percent. There were an estimated 1,163,146 violent crimes reported to law enforcement last year, along with an estimated 8,632,512 property crimes. Property crimes decreased 4.1 percent in 2013, marking the 11th straight year the collective estimates for these offenses declined.

2012: The FBI estimated that in 2012 the number of violent crimes increased by 0.7 percent. However, property crimes decreased 0.9 percent, marking the tenth straight year of declines for these offenses, collectively.

National Crime Victimization Survey-Extended Summary of Recent Years-Focus Is On Violent Crime 

2022-Violent crime rates increased by 44 percent, the largest crime increase in violent crime rates ever recorded.

Violent and property crime rates were essentially unchanged for 2022-2023 and 2024. 

2024: In 2024, the rate of violent victimization in the United States was 23.3 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. This rate was higher than the rate in 2020 (16.4 per 1,000 persons) and 2021 (16.5 per 1,000 persons) and was similar to the rate in 2022 and 2023. Victimizations reflect the total number of times that persons or households were victims of crime. There were 6.7 million violent victimizations of persons age 12 or older in the United States in 2024. This was not significantly different from the number in 2023 but was larger than the number of violent victimizations 5 years before, in 2020 (4.6 million). Victimization rates measure the extent to which violent and property victimizations occur in a specified population during a specified time. In 2024, the rate of violent victimization was 23.3 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, which was not significantly different from the rate in 2023. There were also no significant changes from 2023 to 2024 in the rates of specific types of violent crime. From 2023 to 2024, there were no statistically significant changes in the rates of domestic violence (violent victimizations that were committed by current or former intimate partners or family members), intimate partner violence (violent victimizations that were committed by current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends), and stranger violence. Neither violent crime with an injury nor with a weapon changed significantly during this period. However, the rates increased from 2020 to 2024 for intimate partner violence (1.7 per 1,000 persons age 12 and older in 2020 to 2.7 per 1,000 in 2024), violent victimization by a stranger (7.1 to 10.8 per 1,000), and violent victimization with a weapon (3.4 to 5.4 per 1,000). There were 13.1 million property victimizations in 2024, similar to 2023. Households in the United States experienced 13.1 million property victimizations in 2024, which was comparable to the number in 2023 but larger than the number 5 years before, in 2020 (12.1 million). 

2023: The rate of nonfatal violent victimization in the United States was 22.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, which was similar to the 2022 rate of 23.5 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older. Violent victimization includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault. “Findings show that there was an overall decline in the rate of violent victimization over the last three decades, from 1993 to 2023,” said Kevin M. Scott, Ph.D., BJS Acting Director. “While the 2023 rate was higher than those in 2020 and 2021, it was not statistically different from the rate 5 years ago, in 2019.”  Of the more than 6.4 million violent victimizations in 2023, about 9% involved a firearm, which was not significantly different from the percentage in 2022. Firearm victimizations are violent victimizations where the offender possessed, showed or used a firearm. In 2023, the rate of property victimization was 102.2 per 1,000 households, which was not significantly different from 2022. However, the rate of property victimization in urban areas increased from 176.1 per 1,000 in 2022 to 192.3 per 1,000 in 2023. Property victimization includes burglary or trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of household theft. The NCVS collects information on crimes reported and not reported to police. A smaller percentage of robbery victimizations that occurred in 2023 (42%) than in 2022 (64%) were reported to police, and the percentage of motor vehicle thefts reported to police decreased from 81% in 2022 to 72% in 2023. 

2022: The violent victimization rate increased from 16.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 2021 to 23.5 per 1,000 in 2022. There were 6.6 million violent victimizations of persons age 12 or older in the United States in 2022, up from 4.6 million in 2021. Many groups (see below) had very large percentage increases in violent victimization. Households in the United States experienced 13.4 million property victimizations in 2022, up from 11.7 million in 2021. The rate of property victimization in 2022 was 101.9 victimizations per 1,000 households, higher than the rate in 2021 (90.3 per 1,000). In 2022, about 2 in 5 (42%) violent victimizations were reported to police. Motor vehicle theft victimization increased from a rate of 4.3 victimizations per 1,000 households in 2021 to 5.5 per 1,000 in 2022. About 10% of violent victimizations involved a firearm in 2022, an increase from 2021 (7%). In 2022, about 1.24% (3.5 million) of persons age 12 or older nationwide experienced at least one violent crime.

2021: From 2020 to 2021, the violent victimization rate increased from 19.0 to 24.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons in urban areas while remaining unchanged in suburban or rural areas. The rate of serious (excluding common assaults) violent victimization in urban areas increased. The overall violent victimization rate did not change between 2020 and 2021. In 2021, about 0.98% (2.7 million) of persons age 12 or older nationwide experienced at least one violent crime. About 6.25% (8.1 million) of households in the country experienced one or more property victimizations (burglary or trespassing, motor vehicle theft, or other household theft). The rate of property victimization in 2021 was 90.3 victimizations per 1,000 households, which was not statistically different from the 2020 rate.

2020: The violent victimization rate dropped 22 percent in 2020. This is the largest decrease in violence ever reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The violent victimization rate declined from 21.0 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2019 to 16.4 per 1,000 in 2020. The number of violent crimes, excluding simple assault, fell from 2.0 million in 2019 to 1.6 million in 2020.

2019: There was no statistically significant change in number or rate of total violent victimization from 2018 to 2019 including simple assault. The National Crime Victimization Survey states the rate of violent crime excluding simple assault declined 15% for 2019. However, new data from Criminal Victimization-2020 indicates that the numbers and rates for violent crime decreased in 2019, contradicting what they previously said.

2018: Violent Crime: From 2015 to 2018, the total number of violent victimizations increased by 28%. The rate of total violent victimizations also increased. The number of violent incidents increased from 5.2 million in 2017 to 6.0 million in 2018. Property crime continues to decrease. Serious violent crime increased.

2017: For the National Crime Survey (released in December of 2018) most of the sixteen categories of violent crime rates increased from 2015 to 2017. Some were flat. Three decreased. There was no statistically significant increase from 2016 to 2017 in the number of residents who had been victims of violent crime, while there was a statistically significant increase from 2015 to 2017. For the second straight year, the number of victims of violent crime was higher than in 2015. The number of persons age 12 or older who had been victims of violent crime rose from 2.7 million in 2015 to 2.9 million in 2016 (up 9 percent from 2015) and 3.1 million in 2017 (up 17 percent from 2015). The 2-year increase in the number of violent-crime victims was 455,700.

2016: Based on revised estimates (released on October 18, 2018) from the National Crime Victimization Survey, from 2015 to 2016, violent criminal victimizations increased for a variety of categories. Property crime increased for the first time since 2013. The revised estimates replace previously released 2016 estimates that did not permit year-to-year comparisons. From 2015 to 2016, the number of persons experiencing one or more violent victimizations increased from 2.7 million to 2.9 million. From 2015 to 2016, the number of violent crimes increased from 5,006,620 to 5,353,820. There was no statistically significant change in the rate of overall violent crime from 2015, yet the rate increased (18.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older) to 2016 (19.7 per 1,000).

2015: There was no statistically significant change in the overall rate of violent crime, per the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The rate of violent victimization was 18.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2015.

2014: Violent crime rates decreased from 2013 (23.2 victimizations per 1,000) to 20.1 per 1,000 in 2014. The overall property crime rate (which includes household burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft) decreased from 131.4 victimizations per 1,000 households in 2013 to 118.1 victimizations per 1,000 in 2014.

In 2013: The overall violent crime rate declined slightly from 26.1 to 23.2 victimizations per 1,000 U.S. residents from 2012 to 2013, per the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The violent crime rate had declined for nearly two decades before increasing in 2011 and 2012. The overall property crime rate, which includes burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft, also decreased after two consecutive years of increases. From 2012 to 2013, the rate declined from 155.8 to 131.4 victimizations per 1,000 U.S. households.

In 2012: For the second consecutive year, violent and property crime rates increased. The overall violent crime rate (which includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) rose from 22.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 2011 to 26.1 in 2012

18.

Links For The Latest Data Involving Crimes Reported To Law Enforcement Agencies (through the FBI), Including FBI  Press Releases

Note: Crime Data From The FBI Is Now Located In Their New National Crime Data Explorer.

• FBI Press Release for 2024
• FBI Press Release for 2023
• FBI Press Release for 2022
• FBI Press Release for 2021
• FBI Final Crime Statistics for 2020
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/overview-of-preliminary-uniform-crime-report-january-june-2020
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-crime-statistics
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2018-crime-statistics-released-093019
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-preliminary-semiannual-crime-statistics-for-2018
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2017-crime-statistics
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2017-preliminary-semiannual-crime-stats-released
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2016-crime-statistics
• https://ucr.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/preliminary-semiannual-uniform-crime-report-januaryjune-2016
• https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/resource-pages/2015-cius-summary_final
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-preliminary-semiannual-crime-statistics-for-2015
• https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2014-crime-statistics
• http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/preliminary-semiannual-uniform-crime-report-january-june-2014
• http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2013-crime-statistics
• http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/fbi-releases-2012-crime-statistics
• http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/fbi-releases-2011-crime-statistics

Links For The Latest Data From The National Crime Victimization Survey

• The complete list of the “Criminal Victimization” series (1993 to today) is available at the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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Gallup Data On Crime

There are three traditional sources for violence and crime in the U.S.: the FBI’s Crime Reports, the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Survey, and Gallup.

See the “Fear of Crime” section. Per Gallup, fear of crime is at or near record levels.

There are endless additional sources on crime (Pew, the CDC, the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, private research firms, and many others) that are used throughout this report, but our focus is on the data most refer to when discussing crime. Some of the references below are dated, but it’s good to be exposed to a partial history of their crime findings.

Gallup’s historical crime data is a good starting point.

Gallup has an array of crime data in one place.

Gallup in 2023-A 58% majority of Americans think the U.S. criminal justice system is not tough enough in its handling of crime, marking a sharp reversal from the prior reading in 2020 when a record-low 41% said the same. Another 26% of U.S. adults currently say the system is about right, while 14% think it is too tough.

Gallup in 2024-U.S. Confidence in Institutions Mostly Flat, but Police Up.

Per Gallup (October 2021), There is a big increase in the criminal victimization of urban households in 2021, 30 percent compared to 22 percent in 2020. Seven percent of urban residents were violently victimized compared to 3% of U.S. adults. The majority of Americans live in urban areas. The collective data (urban crime victimization-computer crime) indicates a growing crime problem for at least half of American households, Gallup.

Per Gallup (February 2020), “Each year since 2017, 15% of U.S. adults have indicated they were victimized by crime in the past year. A subset of that, between 1% and 3%, have reported being the victim of a violent crime.” One percent of Americans were victimized by violent crime in 2016. That tripled to three percent in 2019. 2019 is the first year that violent crime reached three percent, Gallup.

Per Gallup (November 2016) Americans’ direct experience with crime is at a 16-year high, consistent with a gradual increase — from 22% in 2001 to 29% today — in the percentage saying that they or a household member was the victim of a robbery, vandalism or violent crime in the past year, see Gallup-Crime.

Per Gallup-Household crime was at its highest point since 2001.

Gallup offered their November 2017 report, which addressed personal and household crime. Asked about their own experiences rather than the situation for their household as a whole, 15% of U.S. adults say they have been the victim of at least one of the crimes studied.

For personal crime, that is an insignificant drop of one percentage point from last year’s 16%.

Twenty-two percent of Americans say a conventional crime was committed against their household in the previous 12 months, the lowest proportion since 2001, see Gallup-Crime-2017.

So within two years, we have both the highest and lowest measures of household crime, but an insignificant drop in personal crime.

Are most Americans victimized by crime yearly? Per Gallup, (2016) beyond the 29 percent of households victimized by violent and property crimes, 27 percent of households had their credit card stolen by hackers and 17 percent of households were victims of identity theft.

Gallup refers to these figures as a direct experience with crime.

Per Gallup (2021), beyond the 23 percent of households victimized by violent and property crimes, 28 percent of households had their credit card stolen by hackers, and 17 percent were victims of identity theft.

Suppose you combine violent and property crime with cybercrime and identity theft (via the numbers from The Bureau of Justice Statistics). In that case, most Americans may be victimized by crime every year, which may partially explain why we are at near record levels of fear of crime.  Note that repeat victimizations need to be considered when considering that possibility.

Gallup also states that in 2023, 52 percent of American Households have firearms.

20.

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See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.

Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.

US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.

National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.

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