Table 4 Data Declaration
Offenses Reported to Law Enforcement, by State by Cities 100,000 and over in population
The FBI collects these data through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.
General comment
This table provides the number of offenses known to law enforcement for the first 6 months of 2017 and 2018 in cities with populations of 100,000 and over.
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.
Methodology
Data from law enforcement agencies whose resident population falls below 100,000 are published in this table for 2 consecutive years. If the population remains below 100,000 after 2 years, the agency’s data are no longer published in this table.
When the FBI determines that an agency’s data collection methodology does not comply with the national UCR Program’s guidelines, the figure(s) for that agency’s offense(s) is not included in the table and the discrepancy is explained in a footnote. Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation January-June 2018 Released February 2019 2 Rape figures, and violent crime, which rape is a part, will not be published in this table for agencies submitting rape using the UCR legacy rape definition for either or both years.
The FBI does not publish arson data in this table unless the UCR Program receives data from the agency for the first 6 months of the year.
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.
If you have questions about this table
Contact the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division via e-mail at crimestatsinfo@fbi.gov.