In its preliminary annual crime statistics report for 2009, the FBI says that violent crime in the nation decreased 5.5 percent and property crime declined 4.9 percent when compared with data from 2008. The report, titled Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, includes data from law enforcement agencies six to 12 months of data in both 2008 and 2009.
All four violent crime offenses -- murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault -- declined nationwide in 2009 when compared with 2008 data. Robbery dropped 8.1 percent, murder decreased 7.2 percent, aggravated assault declined 4.2 percent, and forcible rape decreased 3.1 percent. Violent crime fell in all city groupings. The largest decrease, 7.5 percent, was in cities with populations ranging from 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants.
Violent crime declined 4.0 percent in the nations metropolitan counties and 3.0 percent in nonmetropolitan counties. Cities with 25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants were the only city population group to report an increase in the number of murders, 5.3 percent.
All population groups reported decreases in the volume of robbery in 2009. Of the city groups, cities with populations of 100,000 to 249,999 had the largest decrease at 10.3 percent. Metropolitan counties reported a 6.7 percent drop in robberies; nonmetropolitan counties reported a 0.7 percent decline.
The number of aggravated assaults declined in all population groups, with cities of 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants reporting a 6.3 percent decrease. Aggravated assaults declined 3.7 percent in nonmetropolitan counties and 3.0 percent in metropolitan counties. All four regions in the nation showed decreases in violent crime in 2009 when compared with data from 2008.
Violent crime decreased 6.6 percent in the South, 5.6 percent in the West, 4.6 percent in the Midwest, and 3.5 percent in the Northeast. All property crime offenses -- burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft -- decreased in 2009 when compared with 2008 data.
Motor vehicle theft showed the largest drop in volume at 17.2 percent, larceny-thefts declined 4.2 percent, and burglaries decreased 1.7 percent.
The nation's largest cities, one million or more inhabitants, reported the greatest decrease, 7.9 percent, in property crime overall. Of the city groupings, this population group also reported the biggest decreases in the offenses that comprise property crime: a 21.1 percent drop in motor vehicle theft, a 5.7 percent decline in burglary, and a 5.5 percent decrease in larceny-theft. In the nations nonmetropolitan counties, larceny-thefts fell 9.5 percent; in metropolitan counties, larceny-thefts declined 5.9 percent. The only population group to indicate a rise in any type of property crime was in nonmetropolitan counties, where burglary rose 0.5 percent. In comparing 2008 data and 2009 data by region, law enforcement agencies in the West reported the biggest decline in property crime, with a decrease of 6.8 percent.
Property crime declined 5.6 percent in the Midwest, 5.3 percent in the Northeast, and 3.2 percent in the South. Arson offenses, which are tracked separately from other property crimes, declined 10.4 percent nationwide. All population groups reported decreases in the volume of arson offenses. In addition, arson fell in all four of the nations regions: 11.6 percent in the West, 10.6 percent in the South, 9.2 percent in the Midwest, and 8.6 percent in the Northeast.
The complete 2009 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report is available exclusively at www.fbi.gov/ucr/prelimsem2009/index.html.
