Crime Rates Fall in the First Half of 2007

According to preliminary reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, violent crime and property crime rates fell in the first six months of 2007.

By Famin Ahmed, NCPC Staff

The Federal Bureau of Investigations reported a decrease in the number of violent crimes and property crimes reported by law enforcement agencies for the first six months of 2007 when compared with the same reporting period in 2006.

According to the Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report for January–June 2007 released in January, violent crime rates dropped as a whole throughout the nation by 1.8 percent when compared with the rates reported for the first six months of 2006. Violent crimes include murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The largest decrease in overall rates of violent crime was in cities with populations of 250,000 to 499,000 residents.

However, rates of violent crime increased in both non-metropolitan counties (by 1.1 percent) and cities with populations of 10,000 to 24,999 residents (by 1.1 percent). Murder rates rose 4.9 percent in metropolitan counties, 3.2 percent in cities with 50,000 to 99,000 residents, and 1.3 percent in non-metropolitan counties. Reports of burglary increased 3.5 percent in cities with populations of a million or more.

Property crime figures dropped 2.6 percent in the nation as a whole. Property crime includes burglary, larceny/theft, and motor vehicle theft. Like violent crime, property crime also declined in all offense categories: burglary, 1.3 percent; larceny/theft, 2.1 percent; and motor vehicle theft, 7.4 percent. When comparing geographic regions, the South experienced a slight rise of about 0.4 percent in property crime compared with the rest of the nation.

Other reported decreases in crime rates included

• Violent crime rates fell in all four regions of the country.
• Reported rates of murder and non-negligent manslaughter fell 1.1 percent nationwide.
• Rates of forcible rape fell 6.1 percent.
• Robbery rates went down 1.2 percent.
• Reports of aggravated assaults fell 1.7 percent.
• The largest decrease in violent crime—5.1 percent—was reported in cities with populations of 250,000 to 499,000 residents.
• Cities with populations of a million residents or more reported a 6.5 percent drop in murder rates, a 14.2 percent drop in rates of forcible rape, a 4.3 percent drop in robbery rates, and a 3.3 percent decrease in aggravated assaults.
• Rates for reported cases of arson, which are not submitted with reports of property crime, fell 9.7 percent across the country.

Data used in the Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report are the number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies throughout the country and are submitted voluntarily by those agencies. The report includes data from 11,673 law enforcement agencies nationwide. All data in this report are preliminary and may not accurately represent crime in the nation for the year. Users are cautioned against drawing conclusions by comparing cities without careful study and analysis of the unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction.