Definitions for crime trends from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports

Criminal Offenses

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program collects data on certain offenses, termed Part I offenses, reported to law enforcement in order to measure the level and scope of crime occurring throughout the Nation.

For more information about the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, see the appendices to the annual FBI publication, Crime in the United States.

Violent offenses

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter - the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded. Justifiable homicides are classified separately.

Forcible rape - The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Rapes by force and attempts or assaults to rape regardless of the age of the victim are included. Statutory offenses (no force used - victim under age of consent) are excluded.

Robbery - The taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.

Aggravated assault - An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. Simple assaults are excluded.

Property offenses

Burglary - breaking or entering - The unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted forcible entry is included.

Larceny-theft (except motor vehicle theft) - The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles or automobile accessories, shoplifting, pocket-picking, or the stealing of any property or article which is not taken by force and violence or by fraud. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, worthless checks, etc., are excluded.

Motor vehicle theft - The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled and runs on the surface and not on rails. Motorboats, construction equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment are specifically excluded from this category.

Arson* - Any willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, etc.

* Arson is not included in the data presented.

Source: FBI, Crime in the United States, annually
Months Reporting

Law enforcement agencies report crime data monthly. The number of months for which they reported each year is presented in single jurisdiction tables.

Population Coverage

Population coverage includes the population covered by the reports submitted by a particular agency and may vary from the agency's parent government's population. Some agencies report for other agencies as well as for themselves. Incorporations, contract policing arrangements, and other factors may also effect the population covered in any single year.

Population figures for individual jurisdictions are estimated by the UCR Program in noncensus years. The method of estimation varies from year to year based on the availability of information from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Appendix III of each edition of Crime in the United States outlines the procedure used.

Rates

Rates are the number of reported offenses per 100,000 population.