BJS: Bureau of Justice Statistics

Home  |  About Us  |  Contact Us  |  Help  |  A-Z Topic List
  Advanced
Search
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Stay Connected
JUSTSTATSRSSGOV Delivery

Interested in statistics?

Subscribe to JUSTSTATS

Get email notices of new crime and justice statistical materials as they become available from BJS, the FBI, and OJJDP.

Once you subscribe, you will receive an email notification from JUSTSTATS when updated or new information becomes available.

Home  |  Key Facts at a Glance
Key Facts at a Glance

Four measures of serious violent crime

To the chart based on these data | Download spreadsheet version

Four measures of serious violent crime

Serious Violent Crimes (including homicide)
  NCVS UCR
Year Total Violent Crime Victimizations reported to the police Crimes recorded by the police

Arrests for violent crime
1973 3,589,800 1,860,400 715,300 392,700
1974 3,799,300 2,029,300 790,300 462,900
1975 3,593,800 1,975,300 843,300 441,100
1976 3,612,500 2,038,800 822,100 414,600
1977 3,661,700 1,966,000 844,900 438,500
1978 3,625,300 1,879,000 893,300 469,900
1979 3,834,000 2,019,800 998,000 467,700
1980 3,793,600 2,036,700 1,107,500 482,900
1981 4,100,900 2,217,100 1,124,200 496,600
1982 3,925,300 2,231,800 1,107,400 547,400
1983 3,454,700 1,876,600 1,064,200 516,600
1984 3,682,500 2,002,800 1,081,100 501,600
1985 3,357,700 1,925,700 1,125,900 506,800
1986 3,283,800 1,899,300 1,268,000 565,000
1987 3,424,100 1,987,000 1,264,500 568,100
1988 3,562,100 1,941,100 1,335,800 600,000
1989 3,532,800 1,846,900 1,404,100 666,100
1990 3,499,700 1,948,300 1,555,900 722,400
1991 3,711,100 2,132,000 1,631,700 738,200
1992 3,985,800 2,159,800 1,656,100 722,700
1993 4,190,000 2,217,500 1,647,100 716,100
1994 4,115,000 2,109,900 1,604,600 778,800
1995 3,493,500 1,756,400 1,549,900 796,200
1996 3,260,100 1,740,400 1,444,600 729,900
1997 3,038,200 1,740,900 1,404,300 717,800
1998 2,776,000 1,587,100 1,321,100 675,900
1999 2,529,100 1,408,500 1,233,500 636,000
2000 2,186,300 1,250,800 1,223,500 625,300
2001 2,014,300 1,181,100 1,229,000 627,100
2002 1,685,900 1,035,700 1,216,100 620,500
2003 1,829,900 1,068,700 1,179,000 597,000
2004 1,648,100 1,030,200 1,162,100 590,300
2005 1,822,000 1,051,800 1,190,800 603,500
2006*     1,228,700 611,500
2007 1,613,100 972,000 1,215,500 597,400
2008 1,530,400 925,500 1,190,500 594,900
2009 1,459,200 903,300 1,130,700 581,800
         

Note: The serious violent crimes included are rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide. Because of changes made to the victimization survey, data prior to 1992 are adjusted to make them comparable to data collected under the redesigned methodology. Estimates for 1993 and beyond are based on collection year while earlier estimates are based on data year.

*Victimization trends exclude NCVS estimates for 2006 because of methodological inconsistencies between the data for that year and the data for other years. Changes to the NCVS and their impact upon the survey's estimates in 2006 are discussed in the Criminal Victimization, 2006 Technical Notes.

The measures of violent crime come from two sources of data:

1) The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) a household survey ongoing since 1972, this survey of households interviews about 134,000 persons age 12 and older in 77,200 households each year about their victimizations from crime.
2) The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) that collects information on crimes and arrests reported by law enforcement authorities to the FBI.

Definitions—
Total violent crime: The estimated number of homicides of persons age 12 and older recorded by police plus the number of rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults from the victimization survey whether or not they were reported to the police. From NCVS + homicide from the UCR.
Victimizations reported to the police: The estimated number of homicides of persons age 12 and older recorded by police plus the number of rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults from the victimization survey that victims said were reported to the police. From the NCVS + homicide from the UCR.
Crimes recorded by the police: The estimated number of homicides, forcible rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults included in the Uniform Crime Reports of the FBI excluding commercial robbery and crimes involving victims under age 12 from the UCR.
Arrests for violent crimes: The number of persons arrested for homicide, forcible rape, robbery or aggravated assault as reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI. From the UCR.

Source: National Crime Victimization Survey and Uniform Crime Reports



Back to Top