The data are provided are the Maryland Statistical Analysis Center (MSAC), within the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP). MSAC, in turn, receives these data from the Maryland State Police's annual Uniform Crime Reports.

Historical crime rates per 100,000 people, 1975 - present. In June 2017 we changed the update frequency of this dataset from annual to as-needed because sometimes there is a lag that is often 6 months after the annual date before the new data is available.

In 2023, the District of Columbia had the highest reported violent crime rate in the United States, with 1,150.9 violent crimes per 100,000 of the population. Maine had the lowest reported violent crime rate, with 102.5 offenses per 100,000 of the population. Life in the District The District of Columbia has seen a fluctuating population over the past few decades. Its population decreased throughout the 1990s, when its crime rate was at its peak, but has been steadily recovering since then. While unemployment in the District has also been falling, it still has had a high poverty rate in recent years. The gentrification of certain areas within Washington, D.C. over the past few years has made the contrast between rich and poor even greater and is also pushing crime out into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs around the District. Law enforcement in the U.S. Crime in the U.S. is trending downwards compared to years past, despite Americans feeling that crime is a problem in their country. In addition, the number of full-time law enforcement officers in the U.S. has increased recently, who, in keeping with the lower rate of crime, have also made fewer arrests than in years past.

This special topic poll, conducted August 14-19, 2002, was undertaken to assess respondents' opinions on current events in Prince George's County, Maryland. Those polled were residents of Prince George's County and were asked about their political party affiliation, whether they were going to vote in the Democratic primary election, which candidate for county executive they intended to vote for, how they rated the candidates for county executive, and how interested they were in general in the county executive campaign. Respondents were also asked which candidate they supported in the general election for governor of Maryland. Additional questions asked respondents to rate the quality of the job performance of the current county executive Wayne Curry and the current county schools chief Iris Metts. Respondents were asked about how Prince George's County rated as a place to live, the quality of life in the county, what they liked most about the county, and what they liked least about the county. They were also asked to indicate whether several aspects of the county were problems, including the quality of public schools, unemployment rate, violent crime, drugs, relations between the police and community, the overall health of the local economy, low-income residents moving from the District into Prince George's County, the absence of stores specializing in exclusive, high-end merchandise, relations between the races, transportation and roads, and problems related to immigrants. There were also questions regarding the quality of public schools, whether the public schools were improving, and whether the recent dismissal of the county's elected school board was a good idea. Respondents were asked how well whites and Blacks got along in the county, how important it was to have an African-American county executive, whether whites or Blacks had too much influence in county politics, whether it would be better if the percentage of Blacks increased, and whether it would be better if the percentage of whites increased. Opinions were also elicited on the new TRIM law regarding property taxes, how safe from crime they felt, how much force county police tended to use, and whether they favored slot-machine gambling at horse racing tracks in Maryland. Background information on respondents includes education, marital status, race, income, gender, how long the respondent had lived in the county, whether they lived inside the Beltway, and whether they had children.