Annual Crime Report Released by FBI

An annual crime report in the U.S. has been released today. According to the report, the number of violent crimes reported has decreased for the fifth year in a row.

• Oct 30, 2012

According to the just-released Crime in the United States 2011 report, the estimated number of violent crimes reported to law enforcement (1,203,564) decreased for the fifth year in a row, while the estimated number of property crimes reported to law enforcement (9,063,173) decreased for the ninth year in a row.

Here are some of the highlights from the report:

Violent Crime

· The South, the most populous region in the country, accounted for 41.3 percent of all violent crimes (lesser volumes of 22.9 percent were attributed in the West, 19.5 percent in the Midwest, and 16.2 percent in the Northeast).

· Aggravated assaults accounted for the highest number of estimated violent crimes reported to law enforcement at 62.4 percent.

· Firearms were used in 67.8 percent of the nation’s murders, 41.3 percent of robberies, and 21.2 percent of aggravated assaults (data on weapons used during forcible rapes is not collected).

· In 2011, 64.8 percent of murder offenses, 41.2 percent of forcible rape offenses, 28.7 percent of robbery offenses, and 56.9 percent of aggravated assault offenses were “cleared”—either by the arrest of the subject or because law enforcement encountered a circumstance beyond its control that prohibited an arrest after the subject was identified (i.e., death of the subject).

Property Crime

· 43.2 percent of the estimated property crimes occurred in the South (followed by the West with 22.8 percent, the Midwest with 21.1 percent, and the Northeast with 13 percent).

· Larceny-theft accounted for 68 percent of all property crimes in 2011.

· Property crimes resulted in estimated losses of $156.6 billion.

· Also cleared were 21.5 percent of larceny-theft offenses, 12.7 percent of burglary offenses, 11.9 percent of motor vehicle theft offenses, and 18.8 percent of arson offenses.

To view the entire report, please click here.