Still more great news and data on the latest crime rates in the United States

September 19, 2011

The chart reprinted here comes from this FBI webpage that reports on the latest great news on crime rates. This related press release provides more of the data and context for these heart-warming numbers, along with lots of other data of note for criminal justice policy wonks:

According to the figures released today by the FBI, the estimated number of violent crimes in 2010 declined for the fourth consecutive year. Property crimes also decreased, marking this the eighth straight year that the collective estimates for these offenses declined.

The 2010 statistics show that the estimated volumes of violent and property crimes declined 6.0 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, when compared with the 2009 estimates. The violent crime rate for the year was 403.6 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants (a 6.5 percent decrease from the 2009 rate), and the property crime rate was 2,941.9 offenses per 100,000 persons (a 3.3 percent decrease from the 2009 figure).

These and additional data are presented in the 2010 edition of the FBI’s annual report Crime in the United States [available here]. This publication is a statistical compilation of offense and arrest data reported by law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program….

In 2010, there were 18,108 city, county, university and college, state, tribal, and federal agencies that participated in the UCR program. A summary of the statistics reported by these agencies, which are included in Crime in the United States, 2010, follows:

■ Nationwide in 2010, there were an estimated 1,246,248 violent crimes.

■ Each of the four violent crime offenses decreased when compared with the 2009 estimates. Robbery had the largest decrease at 10.0 percent, followed by forcible rape with a 5.0 percent decline, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter with a 4.2 percent decrease, and aggravated assault with a 4.1 percent decline.

■ Nationwide in 2010, there were an estimated 9,082,887 property crimes.

■ Each of the property crime offenses also decreased in 2010 when compared with the 2009 estimates. The largest decline, 7.4 percent, was for motor vehicle thefts. The estimated number of burglaries decreased 2.0 percent, and the estimated number of larceny-thefts declined 2.4 percent.

■ Collectively, victims of property crimes (excluding arson) lost an estimated $15.7 billion in 2010.

■ The FBI estimated that in 2010, agencies nationwide made about 13.1 million arrests, excluding traffic violations.

■ In 2010, there were 14,744 law enforcement agencies that reported their staffing levels to the FBI. These agencies reported that as of October 31, 2010, they collectively employed 705,009 sworn officers and 308,599 civilians, a rate of 3.5 employees for each 1,000 inhabitants.

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