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Rape

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Definition   

In 2013, the FBI UCR Program initiated collection of rape data under a revised definition within the Summary Reporting System. Previously, offense data for forcible rape was collected under the legacy UCR definition:  the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Beginning with the 2013 data year, the term “forcible” was removed from the offense title, and the definition was changed. The revised UCR definition of rape is:  Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. Attempts or assaults to commit rape are also included; however, statutory rape and incest are excluded.  See Rape Addendum for details.

All rape data submitted in 2013—whether collected under the revised definition or the legacy definition—are presented in this publication. However, because only one year of rape data has been collected under the revised definition, the overview presented here discusses only legacy definition rape data.

Data collection

  • The UCR Program counts one offense for each victim of a rape, attempted rape, or assault with intent to rape, regardless of the victim’s age. Sexual relations without the victim’s consent which involves a familial offender is counted as a rape and not an act of incest. All other crimes of a sexual nature are considered to be Part II offenses; as such, the UCR Program collects only arrest data for those crimes. The offense of statutory rape, in which no force is used but the female victim is under the age of consent, is included in the arrest total for the sex offenses category.
  • For this overview only, the FBI deviated from standard procedure and manually calculated the 2012 and 2013 rates of females raped based on the national female population provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Overview    

  • There were an estimated 79,770 rapes (legacy definition) reported to law enforcement in 2013. This estimate was 6.3 percent lower than the 2012 estimate, and 10.6 percent and 16.1 percent lower than the 2009 and 2004 estimates, respectively.  (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
  • The rate of rapes (legacy definition) in 2013 was estimated at 25.2 per 100,000 females.

Expanded rape data

Expanded offense data are the details of the various offenses that the UCR Program collects beyond the count of how many crimes law enforcement agencies report. These details may include the type of weapon used in a crime, type or value of items stolen, and so forth. In addition, expanded data include trends (for example, 2-year comparisons) and rates per 100,000 inhabitants.

Expanded information regarding rape is available in the following tables:

Trends (2-year):  Tables 12, 13, 14, and 15

Rates (per 100,000 inhabitants):  Tables 16, 17, 18, and 19

What you won't find on this page

Clearance and arrest data for rape.