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Reported Crimes Fell in First Half of 2014: FBI

The number of property crimes and violent crimes reported for the first six months of 2014 was down from the first six months of 2013, according to statistics from the FBI.

The report, based on information from 11,009 law enforcement agencies, showed that in the area of property crime:

• All three offenses in the property crime category—burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft—showed decreases in the number of offenses for January to June 2014 when compared with data for the same months of 2013. Burglary offenses dropped 14.0 percent. There was a 5.7 percent decrease in the number of motor vehicle thefts, and a 5.6 percent decrease in larceny-theft offenses.
• Each of the city population groups had decreases in the overall number of property crimes. Law enforcement agencies in cities with populations under 10,000 inhabitants reported the largest decrease, 8.9 percent.
• Property crime decreased 11.8 percent in non-metropolitan counties and 9.0 percent in metropolitan counties.
• All four of the nation’s regions showed declines in the number of property crime: 12.5 percent in the Midwest, 7.6 percent in the Northeast, 5.9 percent in the South, and 5.8 percent in the West.

Arson

The number of arson offenses decreased 6.5 percent in the first six months of 2014. All four regions reported decreases in the number of arsons—11.3 percent in the Midwest, 9.4 percent in the Northeast, 8.4 percent in the South, and 0.4 percent in the West.

Arson offenses decreased 13.0 percent in cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999, the largest decrease within the city groupings. Arson offenses declined 9.9 percent in metropolitan counties but increased 0.4 percent in non-metropolitan counties.

Violent Crimes

In the area of violent crimes, all the offenses —murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape (revised definition), aggravated assault, and robbery—showed decreases. The number of murders declined 6.0 percent, the number of rapes (revised definition) declined 10.1 percent, aggravated assaults decreased 1.6 percent, and robbery offenses decreased 10.3 percent.

Violent crime declined in each of the nation’s four regions. The largest decrease, 7.6 percent, was noted in the Midwest, followed by 6.6 percent in the Northeast, 3.0 percent in the South, and 2.7 percent in the West.

Source: FBI