Table 23 Data Declaration
Offense Analysis, Number and Percent Change, 2017-2018
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 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 2018 and the percentage change in the number of these offenses when compared with 2017 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.
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 2018.
- The rape data reported by those agencies using the UCR legacy definition are not included in this table.
- 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 2017 and 2018.
- 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 2018 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 2017 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 2017 Census population estimate to derive the agency’s 2018 population estimate.