Definition

In the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.  The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims.  The property crime category includes arson because the offense involves the destruction of property; however, arson victims may be subjected to force.  Because of limited participation and varying collection procedures by local agencies, only limited data are available for arson. Arson statistics are included in trend, clearance, and arrest tables throughout Crime in the United States, but they are not included in any estimated volume data. The arson section in this report provides more information on that offense.

Trend

National Volume, Trends, and Rates

Volume

In 2002, law enforcement reported an estimated 10,450,893 property crimes. The figure was 0.1 percent higher than the 2001 estimate. Further trend analyses of 5- and 10-year volumes for property crime indicated that the 2002 figure was 4.6 percent lower than the 1998 number and 14.5 percent lower than the number in 1993.

Among individual property crimes in 2002, burglary offenses rose 1.7 percent, and motor vehicle theft increased 1.4 percent when compared to the 2001 estimates. Larceny-theft decreased 0.6 percent. As previously noted, arson is excluded from the estimated property crime volume totals. (See Table 1.)

Rate

The Nation's rate of property crime offenses in 2002 was estimated at 3,624.1 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. The 2002 rate decreased 0.9 percent compared to the previous year's rate. When measured against the rates from 5 and 10 years ago, property crime rates declined 10.6 percent from the 1998 rate and fell 23.5 percent from the 1993 level. (See Table 1.)

Distribution

Property crimes reported in 2002 accounted for 88.0 percent of the Crime Index. (Based on Table 1.) The highest volume of offenses was attributed to larceny-theft, which made up 67.5 percent of property crimes and 59.4 percent of the Crime Index. (Based on Table 1.)

Community Types

When presenting crime data the UCR Program designates three types of communities: Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), cities outside of MSAs, and rural counties. In 2002, MSAs, accounting for an estimated 80 percent of the Nation's population, had an estimated property crime rate of 3,863.5 offenses per 100,000 persons. Cities outside of MSAs, with 8 percent of the population, had a rate of 4,121.0 property crime offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. Rural areas, making up 12 percent of the overall population, had a rate of 1,696.1 property crimes per 100,000 in population. (See Table 2.)

Regional Offense Trends and Rates

The UCR Program divides the United States into four regions for data analyses: the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West. (Appendix III provides more information on UCR area definitions.) An examination of 2002 data showed the following information regarding the Nation's four regions.

The Northeast

Property crimes reported by law enforcement agencies in the Northeast accounted for an estimated 12.8 percent of property crime nationwide. (See Table 3.) This category of offenses comprised 85.6 percent of the 2002 Index crimes in the Northeast. (Based on Table 4.) Compared to the 2001 volume, property crime decreased 3.3 percent in the Northeast in 2002. The rate of property crime offenses in the Northeast—2,472.6 per 100,000 inhabitants—also showed a decline, 3.8 percent from the previous year's rate. (See Table 4.)

The Midwest

Law enforcement agencies in the Midwest reported an estimated 21.6 percent of the Nation's property crime. (See Table 3.) Property crime comprised 89.1 percent of the Midwest's 2002 Index offenses. (Based on Table 4.) The estimated number of property crime offenses in the Midwest decreased 2.0 percent from the estimated number for 2001. The Midwest's property crime rate of 3,458.2 offenses per 100,000 population was 2.5 percent below the rate for the previous year. (See Table 4.)

The South

Property crimes reported by the South's law enforcement agencies made up 41.0 percent of the Nation's property crime total. (See Table 3.) Property crime offenses accounted for an estimated 87.9 percent of the Index crimes in the South for the year. (Based on Table 4.) The region's volume showed a 0.2 percent increase over the 2001 volume. When compared to the 2001 rate, the South's property crime rate declined 1.1 percent at 4,151.0 property crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. (See Table 4.)

The West

Law enforcement agencies in the West reported 24.6 percent of the property crime nationwide. (See Table 3.) This offense category made up 88.5 percent of the Index crimes in the West. (Based on Table 4.) A comparison to the previous year's volume showed that property crime for 2002 increased 3.8 percent in the West. The estimated property crime rate of 3,910.6 offenses per 100,000 population in the West increased 2.2 percent over the 2001 rate. (See Table 4.)

Population Groups: Trends and Rates

Among population groups, property crime for 2002 decreased by 0.3 percent in the Nation's cities collectively. Changes from the 2001 volume for city groupings ranged from a 1.1 percent increase in cities with populations of 100,000 to 249,999 to a 1.7 percent decrease in cities of 250,000 to 499,999 inhabitants. Additionally, rural counties showed an increase of 0.7 percent in 2002, and suburban counties had an increase of 1.0 percent. (See Table 12.)

The Nation's cities collectively had a property crime rate of 4,422.6 per 100,000 population. Rural counties had a property crime rate of 1,822.6 per 100,000 people, and suburban counties had a rate of 2,695.3 property crime offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. (See Table 16.)

Offense Analysis

In 2002, the estimated dollar loss attributable to property crimes (excluding arson) was $16.6 billion. This figure remained virtually unchanged from the 2001 estimated dollar loss for property crime, up less than three-tenths of one percent. (Based on Tables 1 and 23.)

Among individual property crimes, the 2002 estimated dollar losses were $3.3 billion for burglary, $4.9 billion for larceny-theft, and $8.4 billion for motor vehicle theft. (Based on Tables 1 and 23.) Arson (which is excluded from the estimated property crime tabulations because of limited coverage and participation) had an average dollar loss of $11,253 for the 66,308 offenses for which monetary values were reported. (See Table 2.32.)

Clearances

Clearances occur either by arrest or by exceptional means, i.e., when elements beyond the control of law enforcement prevent the placing of formal charges against the offender. (Section III provides more information regarding clearances.) During 2002, property crime clearances totaled 16.5 percent nationwide. (See Table 25.)

By region, 21.1 percent of property crimes in the Northeast were cleared in 2002, 15.8 percent in the Midwest, 16.7 percent in the South, and 14.7 percent in the West. (See Table 26.)

Law enforcement in the Nation's cities collectively cleared 16.4 percent of property crimes in 2002. Among the Nation's cities, those with populations of 10,000 to 24,999 had the greatest percentage of clearances, 21.1 percent, for property crimes. Cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants cleared the lowest percentage of property crimes during 2002, 11.9 percent. (See Table 25.)

 In rural counties, law enforcement cleared 18.3 percent of property crimes and in suburban counties, 16.4 percent. (See Table 25.)

Clearances and Juveniles

When an offender under the age of 18 is cited to appear before juvenile authorities, the UCR Program clears the incident by arrest, even though a physical arrest may not have occurred. Addition-ally, the Program classifies clearances involving both adult and juvenile offenders as adult clearances.

In 2002, clearances involving only juveniles (persons under the age of 18) comprised 20.3 percent of all property crime clearances. By offense breakdown, this age group accounted for 17.3 percent of burglary clearances, 21.2 percent of larceny-theft clearances, and 18.2 percent of motor vehicle theft clearances.

Juvenile clearances accounted for 20.9 percent of all property crime clearances in the Nation's cities during 2002. In the rural counties, 16.5 percent of the clearances involved juveniles and in the suburban counties, 18.1 percent. (See Table 28.)

Arrests

Total Arrests

Law enforcement made an estimated 1.6 million arrests during 2002 for property crime offenses (including arson). Property crime arrests accounted for an estimated 11.7 percent of all the arrests in 2002. Of all the arrests for property crimes, an estimated 1.2 million arrests (71.9 percent) were for larceny-theft offenses. (Additional arrest breakdowns can be found in Table 29.)

Arrest Rates

In 2002, the United States experienced a rate of 570.5 property crime arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. Among the regions, the West had the highest arrest rate for property crimes with 596.3 arrests per 100,000 persons. The South had the second highest rate for property crime arrests with 593.2, followed by the Midwest with 583.6 and the Northeast with 469.6 property crime arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. (See Table 30.)

Collectively, the Nation's cities recorded an overall property crime arrest rate of 675.4 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. Among those population groups labeled as city, the rate of arrests per 100,000 residents ranged from a low of 616.2 in cities with populations under 10,000 to a high of 716.5 in cities with 100,000 to 249,999 in population. The Nation's suburban counties had an arrest rate of 360.0 property crime arrests per 100,000 people, and rural counties experienced 281.2 property crime arrests per 100,000 residents. (See Table 31.)

Arrest Trends

A comparison of the volume of property crime arrests from 2002 to 2001 showed a 0.6 percent increase in the overall category. Individual property crime arrests increased for motor vehicle theft by 3.9 percent, for burglary by 0.6 percent, and for larceny-theft by 0.4 percent. Arson arrests decreased by 12.0 percent. Arrests of adults for property crime in 2002 were up 2.4 percent when compared to the 2001 figure, but arrests of juveniles were down 3.6 percent when compared to the previous years' arrests. (See Table 36.)

An analysis of 5-year and 10-year trend data revealed a nationwide decline in property crime arrests over the last decade. Property crime arrests in 2002 were 12.5 percent less than in 1998 and 25.2 percent fewer than in 1993. Tables 32 and 34 provide more information regarding trend data.

Distribution by Age, Sex, and Race

Tables 38-43 in Section IV of this report furnish information on the age, sex, and race of those arrested for property crimes. In 2002, a total of 70.2 percent of property crime arrestees were adults (persons 18 years and older). (See Table 38.) By gender, 69.3 percent of all property crime arrestees were males. (See Table 42.) By race, 67.7 percent of all property crime arrests were of whites, 29.6 percent were of blacks, and 2.7 percent were of other races. (See Table 43.)

Information regarding the UCR Program's statistical methodology and table construction can be found in Appendix I.

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Figure 2.12

Property Crime

Percent Change from 1998

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