Preliminary Data for 2002 Released by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program

Preliminary data for 2002 released today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program indicate a 0.2 percent decrease in the nation’s crime index from the 2001 figure. The crime index is calculated using the seven UCR Part I offenses: four violent crimes that include murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault; and three property crimes that include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.

According to the preliminary data, overall violent crime decreased 1.4 percent. Among individual violent crimes, murder and forcible rape both showed increases, 0.8 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively. The number of robberies in 2002 decreased 1.2 percent from the 2001 total, and the number of aggravated assaults declined 2.0 percent.

The overall property crime total remained the same when compared to the 2001 total. Larceny-theft was the lone property crime showing a decrease, 0.7 percent, when compared to the previous year’s total. Burglary increased 1.5 percent, and motor vehicle theft went up 1.2 percent. Arson offenses, included in the modified crime index, decreased 3.7 percent.

Law enforcement agencies, collectively, within three of the nation’s four geographic regions reported data that showed decreases in their crime index in 2002. Those in the Northeast reported the greatest decline, 3.3 percent; followed by the Midwest, 2.1 percent; and the South, 0.1 percent. The agencies in the West reported data that showed a 2.9 percent increase in that region’s crime index.

The volume of violent crime overall decreased in all four regions. Violent crime was down 2.8 percent in the Northeast, 1.3 percent in the South, 1.2 percent in the Midwest, and 0.6 percent in the West. As for property crime, the overall total in the West rose 3.4 percent, and that in the South increased slightly (0.1 percent). Conversely, the volume of property crime reported by agencies in the Northeast declined 3.4 percent, and that reported by agencies in the Midwest decreased 2.2 percent.

By region, the number of murders in the West rose 5.2 percent, and the number in the South increased 2.1 percent. The Northeast saw a 4.8 percent decline in the number of murders and the Midwest, a 2.8 percent decrease.

A review of the preliminary 2002 data by population group showed that among the city population groups, cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 experienced a 1.2 percent increase in their crime index. Cities with populations of 100,000 to 249,999 showed a 0.7 percent increase. Cities with 250,000 to 499,999 inhabitants experienced a 1.9 percent decline in their crime index in 2002. The crime index for suburban counties rose 1.8 percent in 2002, and in rural counties, it increased 0.4 percent. Final crime data for 2002 will be available in the fall with the publication of Crime in the United States, 2002.

The FBI’s Internet site provides the complete preliminary annual Uniform Crime Report.