Violent Crime
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Definition
In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crime is
composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible
rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined in
the UCR Program as those offenses which involve force or threat of force.
Data collection
The data presented in Crime in the United States reflect the
Hierarchy Rule, which requires that only the most serious offense in
a multiple-offense criminal incident be counted. The descending order
of UCR violent crimes are: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible
rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
Overview
- Nationwide, an estimated 1,408,337 violent crimes occurred in 2007.
- There were an estimated 466.9 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants.
- When data for 2007 were compared with 2006 data, the estimated volume
of violent crime declined 0.7 percent.
- Aggravated assault accounted for 60.8 percent of violent crimes,
the highest number of violent crimes reported to law enforcement. Robbery
comprised 31.6 percent and forcible rape accounted for 6.4 percent.
Murder accounted for 1.2 percent of estimated violent crimes in 2007.
- In 2007, offenders used firearms in 68.0 percent of the Nation’s
murders, 42.8 percent of robberies, and 21.4 percent of aggravated
assaults. (Weapon data are not collected for forcible rape offenses.)
(Based on Robbery
Table 3, Aggravated
Assault Table, and Expanded
Homicide Data Table 6.)
What you won't find on this page
Clearance and arrest data
for violent crime.