The nation experienced a 6.2% decrease in the number of violent crimes and a 2.8% decline in the number of property crimes from January to June 2010. Arson, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft fell and burglary all decreased.
That’s according to the FBI’s Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, which is based on information from more than 12,000 law enforcement agencies that submitted three to six comparable months of data to the FBI during the first six months of both 2009 and 2010.
Violent Crime
From January to June 2010, all four of the offense types in the violent crime category declined nationwide when compared with data for the same time period in 2009. Robbery fell 10.7%, murder was down 7.1%, forcible rape declined 6.2%, and aggravated assault decreased 3.9%.
Violent crime declined in all city groups, with the largest decrease, 8.3%, in cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999 persons. Violent crime was also down in both nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties, with declines of 7.6% and 6.2%, respectively.
For the six-month comparison period, violent crime fell in all four regions of the nation: 7.8% in the South, 7.2% in both the Midwest and the West, and 0.2% in the Northeast. The Northeast was the only region to experience an increase in murders, 5.7%. Murder declined in the other three regions—12.0% in the South, 7.1% in the West, and 6.3% in the Midwest.
Property Crime
Property crime was down 2.8% nationwide for the first six months of 2010 compared with data for the same months of 2009. Motor vehicle theft dropped 9.7%, larceny-theft fell 2.3%, and burglary decreased 1.4%.
Property crime declined in all four regions, with a 3.6% decrease in the South, a 3.1% decrease in the West, a 2.5 decrease in the Midwest, and a 0.2% decrease in the Northeast.
Cities with 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants experienced a 4.8% drop in property crime. In nonmetropolitan counties, property crime increased 1.0%, but it decreased 2.4% in metropolitan counties.
Arson
Arson offenses, which are tracked separately from other property crimes, decreased 14.6% nationwide. By population group, the largest decline in the number of arson offenses (17.2%) was in cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 residents. Arson also fell in metropolitan counties by 21.6% and in nonmetropolitan counties by 19.4%. Law enforcement agencies in all four regions reported fewer arsons, including declines of 17.6% in the West, 14.3% in the South, 12.6% in the Midwest, and 10.2% in the Northeast.