Annual Crime Data Shows Decrease in Crimes Across the Nation

According to the FBI’s Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report released earlier today, the nation experienced a 4.0 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes and a 0.8 percent decline in the number of property crimes in 2011 when compared with data from 2010. The report is based on information the FBI gathered from 14,009 law enforcement agencies. Highlights from the preliminary report include:

• Violent crime declined in all city groups. Cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 saw the largest decrease (5.2 percent) in violent crime.
• In the violent crime offenses category, murder was down overall 1.9 percent from 2010 figures, while forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault all fell four percent.
• Nationally, the property crime offense categories of larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft decreased in 2011 when compared with 2010 data. Motor vehicle thefts declined in all population groupings. Cities with 100,000 to 249,999 inhabitants experienced the largest decline at 4.3 percent. Metropolitan counties reported a 6.1 percent decrease in motor vehicle thefts.
• Arson offenses, which are not included in property crime totals, decreased 5.0 percent nationwide.

All of the final figures will be published this fall in Crime in the United States 2011. Submitting Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data to the FBI is a collective effort on the part of city, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies to present a nationwide view of crime. Participating agencies provide reports on crimes to their state UCR program, which then forwards the data to the FBI’s national UCR program. Staff then review and enter it into the national UCR database. The information is then publicly disseminated through various reports, as well as through preliminary data reports and special reports on particular topics. The FBI cautions against drawing conclusions by making direct comparisons between cities or individual agencies due to unique conditions that affect each law enforcement jurisdiction. To learn more about this year’s crime report, read the  press release and view the official Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, January-December 2011.