2006 Crime in the U.S. Report
Crime in the U.S. 2006
All the Statistics Now Online
09/24/07
The latest Crime in the United States providing local, state, regional, and national stats for 2006 is now available here (and only here) on this website, and we invite you to delve in. The report includes 81 tables in all, providing in-depth information on offenses, arrests, and police personnel.
At the national level, the report shows an increase of 1.9 percent in the amount of violent crime compared to 2005. The volume of property crime fell by nearly the same amount. While the rate of violent crime—473.5 per 100,000 inhabitants—rose for the second straight year, it is the third lowest total in the past two decades. Property crimes rates dropped to their lowest level since 1987.
The national numbers at a glance:
| Category of Crime | 2005 Volume | 2006 Volume | % Change |
| Violent Crimes Total | 1,390,745 | 1,417,745 | 1.9% |
| Murder | 16,740 | 17,034 | 1.8% |
| Forcible Rape | 94,347 | 92,455 | -2.0% |
| Robbery | 417,438 | 447,403 | 7.2% |
| Aggravated Assault | 862,220 | 860,853 | -0.2% |
| Property Crimes Total | 10,174,754 | 9,983,568 | -1.9% |
| Burglary | 2,155,448 | 2,183,746 | 1.3% |
| Larceny/Theft | 6,783,447 | 6,607,013 | -2.6% |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 1,235,859 | 1,192,809 | -3.5% |
Among the other features provided in the report:
- Fascinating and revealing stats on murders—who committed them against whom and in what circumstances;
- A 20-year overview of the national numbers;
- A crime clock and crime map ; and
- Staffing levels at more than 14,000 law enforcement agencies.
The report, of course, represents a ton of work —just not by the experts in our Criminal Justice Information Services Division, but also by our law enforcement partners, particularly at the state level. The FBI employs scores of professionals to compile, verify, and widely share the report, including statisticians, technical information specialists, programmers, and writer/editors, as well as auditors and trainers who work with the agencies that provide us with the data.
Did you know? In some cases we can provide more information than what’s published here for those who want to study the data more deeply. For example, we can make available our “master files” and a “crime by county” list for all agencies that provided less than a full year’s worth of information. See the report for details.
One important note on the numbers: this year’s publication contains a more prominent message cautioning against using the stats to rank cities or counties. These rankings can lead to simplistic or incomplete analyses, overlooking the many variables impacting crime and its reporting.
As always, we salute our partners in law enforcement not only for supplying the data but also for their continued work to keep America safe.