Today, the FBI released its annual Crime in the United States report for American cities. Nationally, the estimated number of violent crimes decreased 4.4 percent in 2013 when compared with 2012 data. Property crimes decreased 4.1 percent, marking the 11th straight year the collective estimates for property crime offenses declined.

The UCR Program collects information on crimes reported by law enforcement agencies regarding the violent crimes of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, as well as the property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. (Although the FBI classifies arson as a property crime, it does not estimate arson data because of variations in the level of participation by the reporting agencies. Consequently, arson is not included in the property crime estimate.) The program also collects arrest data for the offenses listed above plus 20 offenses that include all other crimes except traffic violations.

Highlights from cities with populations of more than 100,000 people in Washington—comparing 2013 to 2012—are:

1. The rate of violent crime for Washington’s cities decreased from 295.6 offenses per 100,000 city inhabitants to 289.1. Nationally, the estimated rate of violent crime was 367.9 offenses per 100,000 city inhabitants.
2. The rate of property crime for Washington’s cities increased slightly from 3,658.6 offenses per 100,000 city inhabitants to 3,710.3. Nationally, the estimated rate of property crimes was 2,730.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. These rates do not include arsons.
3. In Seattle, there was a sizable decrease in the number of aggravated assaults. There were four less murders and non-negligent manslaughters.
4. In Bellevue, there were sizable decreases in the numbers of rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults.
5. In Everett, there were sizable decreases in the numbers of rapes, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and arsons.
6. In Kent, there were sizable decreases in the numbers of robberies, aggravated assaults, and burglaries.
7. In Spokane, there was a sizable decrease in the number of robberies. There were two less murders and non-negligent manslaughters
8. In Tacoma, there were two less murders and non-negligent manslaughters.
9. In Vancouver, there were sizable decreases in the numbers of robberies, burglaries, larceny thefts, motor vehicle thefts, and arsons. There were three less murders and non-negligent manslaughters.

The breakdown for these Washington state cities is:

Bellevue	2012	2013
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	2	1
Forcible Rape	26	20
Robbery	67	48
Aggravated Assault	66	56
Burglary	685	688
Larceny-theft	2,649	3,013
Motor vehicle theft	169	248
Arson	24	23

 

Everett	2012	2013
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	1	1
Forcible rape	46	42
Robbery	182	192
Aggravated assault	252	208
Burglary	1,165	1,129
Larceny-theft	4,281	4,702
Motor vehicle theft	970	1,034
Arson	29	19

 

Kent	2012	2013
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	2	2
Forcible Rape	68	58 (not comparable*)
Robbery	194	160
Aggravated Assault	279	99
Burglary	1,239	1,061
Larceny-theft	3,365	3,669
Motor vehicle theft	864	870
Arson	15	26

 

Seattle	2012	2013
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	23	19
Forcible rape	119	153 (not comparable*)
Robbery	1,421	1,601
Aggravated assault	2,183	1,985
Burglary	6,523	7,384
Larceny-theft	21,852	24,189
Motor vehicle theft	3,556	4,310
Arson	77	90

 

Spokane	2012	2013
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	13	11
Forcible Rape	81	166
Robbery	537	518
Aggravated Assault	738	745
Burglary	3,827	3,889
Larceny-theft	12,600	13,352
Motor vehicle theft	2,095	2,290
Arson	44	59

 

Tacoma	2012	2013
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	12	10
Forcible Rape	93	144 (not comparable*)
Robbery	486	524
Aggravated Assault	1,024	1,088
Burglary	2,965	3,086
Larceny-theft	7,995	8,200
Motor vehicle theft	1,906	2,024
Arson	72	90

 

Vancouver	2012	2013
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter	5	2
Forcible Rape	72	74 (not comparable*)
Robbery	172	146
Aggravated Assault	343	371
Burglary	1,044	1,007
Larceny-theft	4,343	3,950
Motor vehicle theft	1,091	976
Arson	47	36

For specific information on other cities within Washington, please refer to the attached crime table or access it online here. Also attached is a portion of the crime statistics by state, showing crimes in Washington by population groups.

To compare those statistics with other states, view Table 5 online.

Across the nation, more than 18,400 city, county, state, federal, college/university, and tribal law enforcement agencies voluntarily contribute data to this annual report.

The FBI simply compiles the information as it is provided from local jurisdictions. You will need to contact those local jurisdictions for any analysis of the numbers listed above. Also note that the report features a prominent message cautioning against using the statistics to rank cities or counties. Such rankings can lead to simplistic or incomplete analyses, overlooking the many variables impacting crime and its reporting.

The FBI has been producing the Uniform Crime Report since 1930.  There are numerous other combinations of the 2013 data posted online here.

*Note: In many cases, the reader should not compare the number of rapes in 2012 to those in 2013. The FBI changed the definition of rape and, thus, the reporting from one year to the next is not comparable for cities that used the legacy definition for 2012 and the new definition for 2013.

Prior to 2013, the FBI’s UCR Program collected rape data in the Summary Reporting System under the category “forcible rape.” In 2013, the Program removed the term “forcible” from the title, and revised the definition. The legacy UCR definition of rape is “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” The revised UCR definition of rape is “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.”