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Home • Crime in the U.S. • 2017 • Crime in the U.S. 2017 • Tables • Table 14 • Table 14 Data Declaration

Table 14 Data Declaration

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Crime Trends, by Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties by Population Group, 2016–2017

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

Important note about rape data

In 2013, the FBI’s UCR Program initiated the collection of rape data under a revised definition within the Summary Reporting System. The term “forcible” was removed from the offense name, and the definition was changed to “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.”

In 2016, the FBI Director approved the recommendation to discontinue the reporting of rape data using the UCR legacy definition beginning in 2017.

General comments

  • This 2-year trend table provides the number of offenses for 2016 and 2017 and the percent change between these 2 years for metropolitan counties and nonmetropolitan counties.
  • Metropolitan counties include sheriffs’ offices and county law enforcement agencies associated with a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
  • Nonmetropolitan counties include sheriffs’ offices and county law enforcement agencies that are not associated with an MSA.
  • Offenses from state police agencies are not included in this table.

Methodology

  • The data used in creating this table were from all law enforcement agencies submitting at least 6 common months of complete offense reports for 2016 and 2017. If the FBI determines certain variables have created unusual fluctuations in the data, those data are excluded from the tabulations.
  • A crime trend represents the percentage change in crime based on data reported in a prior equivalent period. In calculating trends, the UCR Program includes only common reported months for individual agencies.
  • The rape data reported by those agencies using the UCR legacy definition for either 2016, 2017, or both years are not included in the trend tables 12-15. This includes 1,164 agencies with a total population of 18,671,578.
  • The percent changes shown for the offense of rape are based on data from those agencies that submitted rape data according to the UCR revised definition for both 2016 and 2017 as well as converted data from agencies that reported data for rape, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object via the NIBRS for both years.
  • The following table provides the actual number of reporting agencies and populations covered for rape.

Population used to calculate rape rates 
by Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties1 
by Population Group, 2017 

Population Group 

Agencies using the revised UCR rape definition 

Agency count 

Population 

Metropolitan 

 

 

Counties 100,000 and over 

156 

42,319,458 

25,000 to 99,999 

399 

20,839,574 

Under 25,000 

1,210 

4,031,629 

Nonmetropolitan 

 

 

Counties 25,000 and over 

240 

9,037,641 

10,000 to 24,999 

501 

7,996,603 

Under 10,000 

1,312 

3,901,217 

1Metropolitan counties include sheriffs and county law enforcement agencies associated with a Metropolitan Statistical Area. Nonmetropolitan counties include sheriffs and county law enforcement agencies that are not associated with a Metropolitan Statistical Area. The offenses from state police agencies are not included in this table.

Population estimation

For the 2017 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 2016 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 2016 Census population estimate to derive the agency’s 2017 population estimate.