Crime reporting statistics describe two related but different things: victimizations people experience and offenses law-enforcement agencies submit to national systems. In the United States, the 2020–2023 survey estimates below show that reporting varied substantially by offense and residence, while 2023 FBI submissions document the scale and coverage of reported crime.
Key Crime Reporting Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 38.4% of violent victimizations involving urban residences were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 51.0% of violent victimizations involving rural residences were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 25.1% of property victimizations involving urban residences were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 36.1% of property victimizations involving rural residences were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 13.5% of urban rape or sexual-assault victimizations were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 72.8% of rural robbery victimizations were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 56.2% of rural aggravated-assault victimizations were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 32.3% of urban simple-assault victimizations were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 42.6% of suburban burglary or trespassing victimizations were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 81.4% of rural motor-vehicle-theft victimizations were reported to police.
- In the United States during 2020–2023, 20.4% of urban other-theft victimizations were reported to police.
- Participating U.S. agencies submitted more than 14 million criminal offenses to the FBI in 2023.
- More than 16,000 U.S. agencies submitted 2023 UCR data, covering 94.3% of inhabitants.
- The FBI estimated that national violent crime decreased 3.0% from 2022 to 2023.
- The FBI estimated that murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased 11.6% in 2023.
- U.S. agencies submitted 11,862 hate-crime incidents in 2023, involving 13,829 related offenses.
- The NCVS violent-crime rate excluding simple assault was 8.9 victimizations per 1,000 people age 12 or older in 2024.
- That NCVS rate was 5.6 per 1,000 in 2021 and 9.8 per 1,000 in 2022.
Contents
- Crime reporting statistics: how much crime reaches police
- Violent-crime reporting statistics by residence
- Property-crime reporting statistics and theft trends
- What FBI reported-crime statistics show nationally
- Crime reporting statistics across two measurement systems
- Recent crime-reporting trends and data caveats
Crime Reporting Statistics: How Much Crime Reaches Police
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) measures nonfatal victimizations, including incidents reported and not reported to police. Its residence categories describe where the victim lives, not necessarily where the incident occurred, and the 2020–2023 brief pools four years to improve stability.
Across all violent victimizations in the United States, the police-reporting estimates were:
| Residence of victim | Reporting rate, 2020–2023 |
|---|---|
| Urban | 38.4% |
| Suburban | 42.5% |
| Rural | 51.0% |
Across property victimizations, reporting was lower in every residence category:
| Residence of victim | Reporting rate, 2020–2023 |
|---|---|
| Urban | 25.1% |
| Suburban | 32.6% |
| Rural | 36.1% |
Source: Reporting to Police by Type of Crime and Location of Residence, 2020–2023, Bureau of Justice Statistics. These are NCVS estimates, not counts of every incident in the country.
Violent-Crime Reporting Statistics by Residence
Reporting varied sharply across violent-crime categories. The following NCVS estimates apply to victimizations associated with urban, suburban, or rural residences in the United States during 2020–2023.
| Violent-crime category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rape or sexual assault | 13.5% | 29.1% | 52.4% |
| Robbery | 63.0% | 49.0% | 72.8% |
| Aggravated assault | 49.8% | 56.0% | 56.2% |
| Simple assault | 32.3% | 39.0% | 46.0% |
The rural robbery estimate was 72.8%, but the source notes that the urban-rural difference for robbery was not statistically significant. That qualification matters because a point estimate is not automatically evidence of a meaningful population difference.
The sexual-assault estimates ranged from 13.5% for urban residences to 52.4% for rural residences. The source identifies these as NCVS estimates, so they should be read as survey-based reporting rates rather than administrative totals.
Source: Reporting to Police by Type of Crime and Location of Residence, 2020–2023.
Property-Crime Reporting Statistics and Theft Trends
Property reporting also depended on the category. Burglary or trespassing includes attempted entry and some non-theft incidents, while “other theft” covers taking property or cash without personal contact.
| Property-crime category | Urban | Suburban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary or trespassing | 41.8% | 42.6% | 43.8% |
| Motor-vehicle theft | 72.7% | 76.5% | 81.4% |
| Other theft | 20.4% | 27.9% | 31.4% |
Motor-vehicle theft had the highest reporting rate in each residence category, reaching 81.4% for rural residences during 2020–2023. Other theft had the lowest rate in each category, ranging from 20.4% in urban residences to 31.4% in rural residences.
These categories should not be collapsed into one “property crime” reporting percentage. The survey definitions differ, and the source specifically cautions that burglary or trespassing includes attempted entry and some incidents that are not theft.
Source: Reporting to Police by Type of Crime and Location of Residence, 2020–2023.
What FBI Reported-Crime Statistics Show Nationally
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) figures count submissions from participating law-enforcement agencies. They therefore describe reported crime in the covered agencies, not all victimizations experienced by residents.
For 2023, more than 16,000 agencies submitted UCR data, representing 94.3% of inhabitants. Those participating agencies reported more than 14 million criminal offenses to the FBI.
The FBI’s estimated national changes from 2022 to 2023 were:
- Violent crime decreased 3.0% in the United States.
- Murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased 11.6%.
- Revised rape offenses decreased 9.4%.
- Aggravated assault decreased 2.8%.
- Robbery decreased 0.3%.
The estimates are based on reported data and participating agencies, so they should not be treated as a direct measure of unreported victimization. Participation and completeness can vary by agency.
Hate-crime collection is a distinct participation stream. In 2023, 16,009 agencies participated, covering 95.2% of the population; agencies submitted 11,862 hate-crime incidents involving 13,829 related offenses.
Among comparable reporting agencies, reported hate-crime incidents declined from 10,687 in 2022 to 10,627 in 2023, using a trend dataset requiring at least six common months or two common quarters.
Source: FBI Releases 2023 Crime in the Nation Statistics.
Crime Reporting Statistics Across Two Measurement Systems
The NCVS and FBI systems answer different questions. NCVS asks people age 12 or older about nonfatal victimizations, whether or not they were reported; UCR and NIBRS rely on law-enforcement submissions.
| Measure | Population or coverage | Result |
|---|---|---|
| NCVS violent crime excluding simple assault | U.S. persons age 12 or older, 2024 | 8.9 victimizations per 1,000 |
| NCVS same measure | U.S. persons age 12 or older, 2015 | 6.8 per 1,000 |
| NCVS same measure | U.S. persons age 12 or older, 2018 | 8.6 per 1,000 |
| NCVS same measure | U.S. persons age 12 or older, 2021 | 5.6 per 1,000 |
| NCVS same measure | U.S. persons age 12 or older, 2022 | 9.8 per 1,000 |
| NIBRS Estimation Program violent-crime rate | United States, 2015–2024 | 3.7–4.0 per 1,000 |
From 2015 through 2024, the NCVS rate of violent crime excluding simple assault reported to police ranged from 2.8 to 5.3 victimizations per 1,000 people age 12 or older. This is a range of annual survey estimates, not one annual rate.
The Nation’s Two Crime Measures, 2015–2024 report states that the NIBRS Estimation Program’s violent-crime rate fluctuated between 3.7 and 4.0 incidents per 1,000 during 2015–2024. NIBRS covers incidents reported by law-enforcement agencies and is not identical to NCVS victimization measurement.
Recent Crime-Reporting Trends and Data Caveats
The NCVS series excluding simple assault moved unevenly across the measured years. It rose from 6.8 victimizations per 1,000 people age 12 or older in 2015 to 8.6 in 2018, declined to 5.6 in 2021, and increased to 9.8 in 2022.
The 2024 rate was 8.9 per 1,000 people age 12 or older. These are survey estimates of victimization, not a count of police reports, and the series includes incidents that never reached police.
Three interpretation rules keep the measures aligned:
- NCVS figures include reported and unreported nonfatal victimizations, while FBI UCR/NIBRS figures depend on law-enforcement submissions.
- Residence categories in the 2020–2023 BJS reporting brief identify where the victim lives, not necessarily where the incident happened.
- NIBRS and NCVS use different populations, definitions, collection methods, and offense coverage; their rates should not be combined or treated as a reporting percentage for one another.
Source: The Nation’s Two Crime Measures, 2015–2024, Bureau of Justice Statistics.