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Table 27

Percent of Offenses Cleared by Arrest or Exceptional Means

Additional Information About Selected Offenses

by Population Group, 2015

Population group Rape (revised definition)1 Rape (legacy definition)2 Robbery Aggravated assault Burglary Motor vehicle theft Arson3 Number
of
agencies
2015
estimated
population
Rape Assault
to rape-
attempts
Rape by
force
Assault
to rape-
attempts
Firearm Knife or
cutting
instrument
Other
weapon
Strongarm Firearm Knife or
cutting
instrument
Other
weapon
Hands,
fists,
feet, etc.
Forcible
entry
Unlawful
entry
Attempted
forcible
entry
Autos Trucks
and
buses
Other
vehicles
Structure Mobile Other
TOTAL ALL AGENCIES: Offenses known 90,823 4,795 7,072 446 113,375 22,428 25,306 117,130 153,226 116,180 199,849 174,739 779,097 476,326 86,874 467,079 87,996 61,719 17,177 9,288 11,404 14,593 274,604,622
Percent cleared by arrest 37.1 38.7 36.4 34.1 22.7 33.2 31.2 33.8 37.3 62.3 54.5 61.8 11.7 14.1 11.6 13.3 10.4 10.4 24.9 9.5 21.7
TOTAL CITIES Offenses known 69,091 3,903 4,689 295 98,192 20,063 22,071 105,964 124,009 95,944 158,454 131,290 576,506 351,202 68,356 389,270 68,984 43,485 13,209 6,940 8,786 10,596 188,057,806
Percent cleared by arrest 35.7 39.0 36.5 38.3 22.7 32.9 30.7 33.6 34.0 61.7 53.3 62.2 11.1 13.7 11.7 12.3 9.3 9.6 24.2 8.7 21.5
GROUP I (all cities 250,000 and over) Offenses known 25,802 1,865 1,067 62 57,610 10,718 11,622 58,836 65,397 43,332 73,321 42,641 224,383 98,315 25,282 172,672 37,107 16,811 4,900 3,195 3,100 74 54,786,571
Percent cleared by arrest 37.8 39.1 32.1 40.3 20.3 30.7 28.3 31.1 29.3 59.5 49.6 59.8 8.6 11.2 11.0 9.2 6.6 7.1 20.8 5.3 18.2
1,000,000 and over (Group 1 subset) Offenses known 10,743 913 0 0 21,504 5,053 5,262 27,833 20,164 19,501 29,960 20,942 78,837 31,548 8,267 60,697 16,586 5,991 1,375 1,041 971 10 24,675,984
Percent cleared by arrest 40.4 45.0 0.0 0.0 22.0 35.0 31.2 36.9 32.8 62.8 54.7 67.8 8.5 10.7 15.8 8.6 4.5 7.1 23.0 6.0 11.2
500,000 to 999,999 (Group 1 subset) Offenses known 7,924 536 599 21 20,714 3,365 4,060 17,384 24,772 13,663 26,066 12,153 82,646 35,024 9,701 59,089 11,801 6,851 1,705 1,052 1,006 22 15,742,712
Percent cleared by arrest 34.7 35.3 30.6 61.9 17.1 24.3 22.6 23.7 28.0 54.2 41.9 50.9 7.5 10.4 7.8 8.9 7.3 6.8 17.9 4.8 21.7
250,000 to 499,999 (Group 1 subset) Offenses known 7,135 416 468 41 15,392 2,300 2,300 13,619 20,461 10,168 17,295 9,546 62,900 31,743 7,314 52,886 8,720 3,969 1,820 1,102 1,123 42 14,367,875
Percent cleared by arrest 37.2 31.3 34.2 29.3 22.4 30.7 31.8 28.5 27.4 60.1 52.5 53.7 10.4 12.7 9.9 10.2 9.5 7.6 21.8 5.2 21.2
GROUP II (100,000 to 249,999) Offenses known 11,798 515 602 36 16,045 3,385 3,525 16,286 20,831 15,870 25,092 17,437 102,432 62,039 11,460 78,777 12,955 8,009 2,044 1,120 1,270 189 28,281,300
Percent cleared by arrest 34.3 43.3 26.1 47.2 22.5 29.7 30.2 33.8 32.5 60.1 52.1 59.9 10.2 12.5 9.9 11.8 11.2 9.5 23.3 10.0 24.2
GROUP III (50,000 to 99,999) Offenses known 9,141 428 698 29 9,172 2,450 2,780 12,264 12,897 11,915 19,251 17,205 77,346 56,095 9,430 55,150 8,556 6,167 1,646 847 1,491 435 30,343,562
Percent cleared by arrest 36.4 36.7 42.1 51.7 27.9 35.8 33.6 37.3 39.3 65.8 59.6 67.0 11.9 13.7 12.8 12.8 10.5 8.6 24.6 9.1 20.9
GROUP IV (25,000 to 49,999) Offenses known 7,885 358 795 40 6,711 1,559 1,897 8,340 9,606 9,325 14,608 14,428 62,754 46,500 8,166 34,524 3,985 4,868 1,336 541 1,090 769 26,625,101
Percent cleared by arrest 33.3 36.3 35.0 32.5 26.7 38.2 32.6 37.0 40.7 63.5 56.6 63.6 12.9 14.3 11.2 15.1 13.6 10.4 28.4 12.8 22.5
GROUP V (10,000 to 24,999) Offenses known 7,171 319 735 28 5,329 1,167 1,379 5,958 8,750 7,916 13,751 16,109 58,034 46,431 6,958 26,832 3,662 3,937 1,315 551 886 1,630 25,941,688
Percent cleared by arrest 35.7 37.6 43.1 17.9 29.6 42.8 38.2 40.4 45.5 66.1 60.1 66.6 14.7 16.0 13.8 19.5 15.2 13.9 30.2 12.5 24.7
GROUP VI (under 10,000) Offenses known 7,294 418 792 100 3,325 784 868 4,280 6,528 7,586 12,431 23,470 51,557 41,822 7,060 21,315 2,719 3,693 1,968 686 949 7,499 22,079,584
Percent cleared by arrest 32.7 38.5 40.7 38.0 30.6 41.7 40.1 41.0 49.4 64.1 56.1 61.0 16.5 18.0 14.2 25.2 20.1 16.8 26.8 15.9 25.4
METROPOLITAN COUNTIES Offenses known 14,891 598 1,762 111 14,092 2,144 2,899 10,305 22,793 16,031 32,170 30,917 146,693 91,059 14,608 64,186 15,414 13,886 2,785 1,817 2,022 1,726 62,778,487
Percent cleared by arrest 40.4 43.8 35.1 24.3 21.6 35.2 33.3 35.1 49.5 65.4 58.7 61.8 12.7 15.1 10.3 15.9 13.0 11.6 25.6 10.4 21.6
NONMETROPOLITAN COUNTIES Offenses known 6,841 294 621 40 1,091 221 336 861 6,424 4,205 9,225 12,532 55,898 34,065 3,910 13,623 3,598 4,348 1,183 531 596 2,271 23,768,329
Percent cleared by arrest 43.3 25.2 39.0 30.0 36.1 49.3 40.2 42.9 59.6 66.2 60.8 57.8 15.4 16.0 13.3 27.5 19.9 14.8 30.6 16.0 24.3
SUBURBAN AREA4 Offenses known 27,997 1,219 2,910 181 24,357 4,425 5,670 22,701 35,837 29,631 55,883 59,772 248,041 169,076 29,185 122,110 22,729 21,987 5,265 2,914 3,771 7,799 115,973,258
Percent cleared by arrest 37.8 39.6 38.8 27.1 24.1 38.9 35.4 38.0 48.2 65.8 58.9 64.3 13.3 15.5 11.1 16.2 13.0 11.9 27.0 11.1 22.7
  • 1 The figures shown in this column for the offense of rape were reported using the revised Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) definition of rape. See the data declaration for further explanation.
  • 2 The figures shown in this column for the offense of rape were reported using the legacy UCR definition of rape. See the data declaration for further explanation.
  • 3 Not all agencies submit reports for arson to the FBI. As a result, the number of reports the FBI uses to compute the percent of offenses cleared for arson is less than the number it uses to compute the percent of offenses cleared for all other offenses. Agencies must report arson clearances by detailed property classificaiton as specified on the Monthly Return of Arson Offenses Known to Law Enforcement to be included in this table; therefore, clearances in this table may differ from other clearance tables.
  • 4 Suburban area includes law enforcement agencies in cities with less than 50,000 inhabitants and county law enforcement agencies that are within a Metropolitan Statistical Area. Suburban area excludes all metropolitan agencies associated with a principal city. The agencies associated with suburban areas also appear in other groups within this table.

Data Declaration

Provides the methodology used in constructing this table and other pertinent information about this table.