Crime in the U.S. 2004

New Crime Stats Released
A Continuing Downward Trend

10/17/05

Talk about information sharing: the 2004 edition of Crime in the United States—now available free on this website—is a veritable treasure trove of data for anyone and everyone who wishes to analyze the nature and extent of crime in the country, in a region, in a state, and in a particular community.

You can find in-depth stats specifically on:

...violent crime (murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault);

...property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft);

...hate crime (a full report will be available later in the fall);

...arson;

...arrests; and

...the number of sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement personnel fighting these crimes.

The publication also includes two special studies: one on arrests of juveniles for drug abuse violations and the other on infants as victims of crime.

What do the top line numbers show? A decline in the estimated volume of violent crimes and property crimes—as reported by more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide. Violent crimes fell 1.2 percent (including a 2.4 percent drop in murders) and property crimes dropped 1.1 percent. Arson also decreased 6.4 percent compared to last year.

A few other stats you might be interested in:
...Property crime victims lost an estimated $16 billion in 2004, including $7.6 million from motor vehicle thefts, $5.1 billion from larceny-thefts, and $3.5 billion from burglaries.

...Law enforcement made approximately 14 million arrests last year, slightly higher than the 13.6 million made in 2003.

...7,649 hate crime incidents were reported, compared to 7,489 in 2003.

In the words of Director Mueller: “In a nation where information sharing has become a priority so that law enforcement can work together to investigate crimes and prevent terrorist acts, the UCR (Uniform Crime Reporting) Program remains an open book for all who want to better understand crime in the United States.”

We hope you’ll take time to check out this “open book” here on this website. For an overview of the numbers, take a look at our national press release.

Resources: Criminal Justice Information Services Division | Related stories