Violent Crime and Weapons: FBI

Definition

In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses that involve force or threat of force. 

Data collection 

Information collected regarding types of weapons used in violent crime showed that firearms were used in 72.7 percent of the nation’s murders, 38.5 percent of robberies, and 26.1 percent of aggravated assaults. (Weapons data are not collected for rape.) 

Overview 

• In 2018, an estimated 1,206,836 violent crimes occurred nationwide, a decrease of 3.3 percent from the 2017 estimate. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
• When considering 5- and 10-year trends, the 2018 estimated violent crime total was 4.7 percent above the 2014 level but 9.0 percent below the 2009 level. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
• There were an estimated 368.9 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018, a rate that fell 3.9 percent when compared with the 2017 estimated violent crime rate and dropped 14.6 percent from the 2009 estimate. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
• Aggravated assaults accounted for 66.9 percent of violent crimes reported to law enforcement in 2018. Robbery offenses accounted for 23.4 percent of violent crime offenses; rape (legacy definition) accounted for 8.4 percent; and murder accounted for 1.3 percent. (Based on Table 1.)

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Region	Total all weapons2	Firearms	Knives or cutting instruments	Unknown or other dangerous weapons	Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.)3
Total	100.0	72.7	10.7	11.8	4.8
Northeast	100.0	76.0	8.4	11.3	4.3
Midwest	100.0	67.1	15.4	11.9	5.6
South	100.0	76.9	8.3	10.6	4.3
West	100.0	65.0	14.7	14.6	5.7

• Information collected regarding types of weapons used in violent crime showed that firearms were used in 72.7 percent of the nation’s murders, 38.5 percent of robberies, and 26.1 percent of aggravated assaults. (Weapons data are not collected for rape.) (See Expanded Homicide Data Table 7, Robbery Table 3, and the Aggravated Assault Table.)

Overview 

• In 2018, the estimated number of murders in the nation was 16,214. This was a 6.2 percent decrease from the 2017 estimate, a 14.5 percent increase from the 2014 figure, and a 5.3 percent increase from the number in 2009. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
• There were 5.0 murders per 100,000 people in 2018. The murder rate in 2018 was down from the rates in 2017 (6.8 percent) and 2009 (1.2 percent). However, the murder rate climbed 11.6 percent when compared with the 2014 rate. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
• Of the estimated number of murders in the United States, 46.2 percent were reported in the South, 22.0 percent were reported in the Midwest, 19.9 percent were reported in the West, and 11.9 percent were reported in the Northeast. (See Table 3.)

The Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Report shows a rise in line-of-duty deaths of the nation’s law enforcement officers in 2018 when compared to 2017.

The Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report shows that in 2018, a total of 106 officers were killed.

Fifty-five of the officers were killed feloniously, which is nine more deaths than the prior year.

Unit Chief Amy Blasher, who says their average age was 37 years old, explains the circumstances of their deaths.

Amy Blasher: Officers who were feloniously killed died as result of many reasons, such as performing investigative activities, tactical situations, interacting with wanted persons, and 11 of them were ambushed.

Halpern: The numbers of officers feloniously killed fluctuates from year to year.

Blasher: … but looking back at the five- and 10-year comparisons, we do show an increase of four felonious deaths compared to the 2014 figures, and an increase of seven deaths compared to the 2009 data.

Halpern: Of the 106 officers who died on the job in 2018, 51 of them were accidentally killed—that’s an increase of three deaths compared to 2017.

Read the full report at fbi.gov.