Latest 2007 FBI Crime Statistics

After rising for two straight years, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation declined in 2007. Property crime declined for the fifth straight year. And each of the seven specific offense categories -- from aggravated assault to murder -- was down from 2006, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. The agency annually releases statistics on violent crimes like murder, rape and robbery and on property crimes such as burglary and vehicle theft. Not all agencies participate in the voluntary UCR program and therefore are not reflected in the data.

Each year the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program collects monthly counts of crimes from thousands of law enforcement agencies. This includes information about violent crime offenses (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault), and property crime offenses (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson). Not all agencies participate in the voluntary UCR program and therefore are not reflected in the data. Select a city for detailed crime data on that city.

An important note about the numbers: The report features a prominent message cautioning against using the statistics to rank cities or counties. Such rankings can lead to simplistic or incomplete analyses, overlooking the many variables impacting crime and its reporting.