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Home • Crime in the U.S. • 2015 • Crime in the U.S. 2015 • Tables • Table 23 • Table 23 Data Declaration

Table 23 Data Declaration

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Offense Analysis, Number and Percent Change, 2014-2015

The FBI collects these data through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.

Important note about rape data

In 2013, the UCR Program initiated the collection of rape data under a revised definition and removed the term “forcible” from the offense name. The UCR Program now defines rape as follows:

Rape (revised definition): 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. (This includes the offenses of rape, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object as converted from data submitted via the National Incident-Based Reporting System.)

Rape (legacy definition): The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.

The rape figures in this table are aggregate totals of data submitted using both the legacy and revised UCR definitions of rape.

General comments

  • This table provides an analysis of the crimes of murder, rape, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. The table lists the number of these offenses reported in 2015 and the percentage change in the number of these offenses when compared with 2014 data.
  • This table provides additional details for the following offenses:
    • Robbery and burglary (percent distribution and average dollar value by location).
    • Larceny-theft (percent distribution and average dollar value by larceny type).
    • Motor vehicle theft (overall average dollar value of vehicle thefts).
  • The offense of aggravated assault is not included in this table. In the UCR Program, the taking of money or property in connection with an assault is reported as robbery.
  • Information regarding the average value of property damage due to arson can be found in Arson Table 2.

Methodology

  • The data used in creating this table were from all law enforcement agencies submitting at least 6 months of complete property/circumstance data for 2015.
  • The FBI presents offense totals for the crimes of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Then, based on supplemental data supplied by law enforcement, the FBI computes value-lost totals for the crimes of robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.
  • The percent distribution statistics are based on the offense totals for the crimes of robbery, burglary, and larceny-theft.
  • The FBI derives trends by comparing statistics from agencies with at least 6 common months of complete data reports for 2014 and 2015.
  • The percent changes are not shown for the offense of rape. Because an aggregate total of rape (revised definition) and rape (legacy definition) was used, a 2-year comparison could not be provided.

Population estimation

For the 2015 population estimates used in this table, the FBI computed individual rates of growth from one year to the next for every city/town and county using 2010 decennial population counts and 2011 through 2014 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Each agency’s rates of growth were averaged; that average was then applied and added to its 2014 Census population estimate to derive the agency’s 2015 population estimate.