Violent Crime In America Rose Slightly In 2015, According To Preliminary FBI Report
A preliminary report from the FBI indicates a slight increase in violent crime in 2015 when compared to 2014, with a decrease in property crime.
The data contained in the FBI's Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report covers only the first half of the year, from January through June. Typically, the full report is released later in the year around September or October.
From 2014 to 2015, January to June, violent crime in America rose 1.7 percent and property crime declined 4.2 percent.
Violent crime:
Murder: +6.2 percent
Robbery: +.03%
Aggravated Assault: +2.3 percent
Property Crime:
Burglary: -9.8 percent
Larceny-theft: -3.2 percent
Motor Vehicle Theft: +1 percent
Arson: -5.4 percent
Violent crime also contains rape data, with two separate sets representing the old and new definitions of rape, which changed last year. Despite the change, some local law enforcement agencies are still submitting data under the old definition. Using the new definition, rape increased 1.1 percent the first half of 2015 when compared to the first half of 2014. By the old definition, the increase was 9.6 percent.
RELATED: FBI's New Rape Definition Leads To A More Comprehensive Look At Chicago Crime
Because of the division of data between the new and old definitions, 2015's data for both includes fewer law enforcement agencies than previous years. This creates what the FBI referred to as "minor differences when calculating trends."
Chicago saw a .74 percent year-to-year increase in violent crime for the first six months of 2015. This included an 18.29 percent increase in murders, a 4.89 percent decrease in rapes (according to the new definition), a 7.93 percent decrease in robberies and a 7.6 percent increase in aggravated assaults.
Chicago saw an 8.25 percent year-to-year decrease in property crime for the first six months of 2015. This included a 15.02 percent decrease in burglaries, a 8.19 percent decrease in larcenies, a .82 percent increase in motor vehicle thefts and an 8.52 percent increase in arsons.
Read the full Uniform Crime Report here.
