In 2023, property crime was the most common type of crime committed in the United States, with over 6.41 million offenses reported to the FBI. In the same year, there were around 1.22 million cases of violent crime reported to the FBI, of which there were 19,252 cases of homicide, including murder and nonnegligent manslaughter.

In 2023, the violent crime rate in the United States was 363.8 cases per 100,000 of the population. Even though the violent crime rate has been decreasing since 1990, the United States tops the ranking of countries with the most prisoners. In addition, due to the FBI's transition to a new crime reporting system in which law enforcement agencies voluntarily submit crime reports, data may not accurately reflect the total number of crimes committed in recent years. Reported violent crime rate in the United States The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation tracks the rate of reported violent crimes per 100,000 U.S. inhabitants. In the timeline above, rates are shown starting in 1990. The rate of reported violent crime has fallen since a high of 758.20 reported crimes in 1991 to a low of 363.6 reported violent crimes in 2014. In 2023, there were around 1.22 million violent crimes reported to the FBI in the United States. This number can be compared to the total number of property crimes, roughly 6.41 million that year. Of violent crimes in 2023, aggravated assaults were the most common offenses in the United States, while homicide offenses were the least common. Law enforcement officers and crime clearance Though the violent crime rate was down in 2013, the number of law enforcement officers also fell. Between 2005 and 2009, the number of law enforcement officers in the United States rose from around 673,100 to 708,800. However, since 2009, the number of officers fell to a low of 626,900 officers in 2013. The number of law enforcement officers has since grown, reaching 720,652 in 2023. In 2023, the crime clearance rate in the U.S. was highest for murder and non-negligent manslaughter charges, with around 57.8 percent of murders being solved by investigators and a suspect being charged with the crime. Additionally, roughly 46.1 percent of aggravated assaults were cleared in that year. A statistics report on violent crime in the U.S. can be found here.

In 2023, the state with the highest crime rate in the United States per 100,000 inhabitants was New Mexico. That year, the crime rate was 3,636.83 crimes per 100,000 people. In comparison, New Hampshire had the lowest crime rate at 996.11 crimes per 100,000 people. Crime rate The crime rate in the United States has generally decreased over time. There are several factors attributed to the decrease in the crime rate across the United States. An increase in the number of police officers and an increase in income are some of the reasons for a decrease in the crime rate. Unfortunately, people of color have been disproportionately affected by crime rates, as they are more likely to be arrested for a crime versus a white person. Crime rates regionally The District of Columbia had the highest rate of reported violent crimes in the United States in 2023 per 100,000 inhabitants. The most common crime clearance type in metropolitan counties in the United States in 2020 was murder and non-negligent manslaughter. The second most dangerous city in the country in 2020 was Detroit. Detroit has faced severe levels of economic and demographic declines in the past years. Not only has the population decreased, the city has filed for bankruptcy. Despite the median household income increasing, the city still struggles financially.

In 2023, an estimated 1,21,467 violent crimes occurred in the United States. This is a decrease from the year before, when 1,256,671 violent crimes were reported. Violent crime in the United States The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that violent crime fell nationwide in the period from 1990 to 2023. Violent crime was at a height of 1.93 million crimes in 1992, but has since reached a low of 1.15 million violent crimes in 2014. When conducting crime reporting, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program considered murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault to be violent crimes, because they are offenses which involve force or threat of violence. In 2023, there were 19,252 reported murder and nonnegligent manslaughter cases in the United States. California ranked first on a list of U.S. states by number of murders, followed by Texas, and Florida.The greatest number of murders were committed by murderers of unknown relationship to their victim. “Girlfriend” was the fourth most common relationship of victim to offender in 2023, with a reported 568 partners murdering their girlfriends that year, while the sixth most common was “wife.” In addition, seven people were murdered by their employees and 12 people were murdered by their employers. The most used murder weapon in 2023 was the handgun, which was used in 7,1 murders that year. According to the FBI, firearms (of all types) were used in more than half of the nation’s murders. The total number of firearms manufactured in the U.S. annually has reached over 13 million units.

In 2023, the violent crime rate in the United States was at 374.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. However, the total rate of property crime was far higher, at 1,916.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Drinking alcohol on the street was the most common offense witnessed by people in Mexico in 2024. When asked which type of crime or antisocial activity they had witnessed, over 63 percent of respondents said alcohol consumption. The second most reported kind of crime was drug consumption, whereas 50 percent of the people surveyed said they had seen this type of crime.

In 2023, the most frequent crimes in Argentina were robberies and thefts, both with over 350,000 registered cases each. During a 2024 survey, crime ranked as the third main problem of Argentina according to public opinion, only surpassed by inflation and low wages.

In 2024, about 64 percent of Americans felt there is more crime now in the United States than there was a year ago. A further 29 percent of survey respondents said that there was less crime in the U.S. in 2024 than there was the year previous.

Between June 2023 and May 2024, the most frequent crimes in El Salvador were thefts, with almost 7,000 cases. In total, the public prosecutors of El Salvador reported 15,620 high impact crimes, a considerable decrease when compared to the previous year. The number of offenses in some of the main categories of property crimes is significantly lower than in other years, for example, the number of thefts or robberies of vehicles transporting goods decreased by almost 60 percent in 2020 when compared with 2019. With these numbers, it is no surprise that the approval rate of the current government is over 85 percent. The falling homicide rate In 2015, the homicide rate in El Salvador was over 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest figures in the world. Nonetheless, during the past years, the rate dropped to less than 20 homicides. El Salvador lived through two of the highest days of violence, with over 74 homicides on March 25th and 26th, 2022. Two days after, El Salvador's government declared a state of emergency to counter gang activity and try to end the wave of violence. Once more, the population seems to back up the government, with over 75 percent of Salvadorans declaring that they feel safe with the current emergency state. The economic cost of violence Violence and crime are two of the main problems society faces in El Salvador and the Central American region. In addition to the lack of security, it also generates economic losses, the cost of violence accounted for over 8,849 million USD in 2022, which is over 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, almost double the global average. This figure represents the expenditure of a country to deal with the outcome of violence, contain it, and prevent it from spreading and continuing.

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.

During 2023, Costa Rica recorded almost 50,000 property crimes. The most common ones being theft with 16,500, robbery with 12,700, and burglary with 10,900 cases. In 2022, Costa Rica registered 611 homicide victims.

In 2023, the topmost crime in Panamá was domestic violence, with 23,032 registered cases, followed by corruption and thefts, with 15,472 cases each.

In 2023, the most frequent crimes in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina were robberies and thefts both with over 60,000 registered cases each. During a survey in 2024, crime ranked as the third main problem of Argentina according to public opinion, only surpassed by inflation and low wages. Prisoner population in Argentina Similar to the situation in Buenos Aires, the most prevalent crimes in Argentina were robberies, with approximately 362,566 cases reported in 2021, followed by thefts and threats. Given this prevalent crime environment, Argentina ranked as the 15th country with the largest number of prisoners worldwide in 2022. However, when population size is factored in, Argentina is ranked 19th among the Latin American countries, with 249 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. Femicides in Argentina Over the past years, the number of femicides in Argentina has seen an increase, totaling 308 as of 2023, almost 60 cases more than the previous year. Notably, a correlation has been identified among these murders, with a significant portion of them occurring at the victim's home, accounting for 46 percent. Additionally, 39 percent of femicide victims had a relationship with the perpetrator, often being partners.

In 2023, there were 3,776 incidents of intimidation hate crimes in the United States, making it the most common type of hate crime in that year. This was followed by simple assault, with 2,467 incidents in that year.

In 2023, a total of 466,350 violent crimes were committed in Texas, the most out of any U.S. state. New York followed, with 285,051 violent crimes committed. California, Illinois, and Michigan rounded out the top five states for violent crimes in that year.

In 2022, there were slightly more female victims of violent crime than male victims, with about 1,749,030 male victims and 1,762,840 female victims. These figures are a significant increase from the previous year, when there were 1,456,310 male victims and 1,278,390.

What counts as violent crime?

Violent crime in the United States includes murder, rape, sexual assault, robbery, and assault. While violent crime across all areas has been steadily falling over the past few decades, the rate of aggravated assault is still relatively high, at 284.4 cases per 100,000 of the population. In 2021, there were more property crimes committed in the U.S. than there were violent crimes.

Keep your enemies closer

It is usually said that most victims know their attacker, and the data backs this up. In 2021, very few murders were committed by strangers. The same goes for rape and sexual assault victims; the majority were perpetrated by acquaintances, intimate partners, or relatives.

In 2023, around 4.5 million incidents of crime were recorded in China. That was about 73,000 cases more than in the previous year, when 4.42 million incidents were reported. Crime in China The total number of crimes in China increased steadily from around 2.2 million incidents in 1999 to nearly 7.2 million in 2015. Since 2015, the number of recorded crimes started to drop, most probably due to new protection and surveillance technologies. In relation to the population size of 1.4 billion people in China, the number of crimes committed is not very high compared to other countries. For example, the United Sates reported more crimes in 2022 than all of China, although the total population of China was considerably greater. The crime rate of Singapore, as an example for a country in the Asia Pacific region, is also quite a bit higher than in China. However, one must bear in mind that the definition of crimes, the willingness to report crimes, and accounting measures may vary in different countries. Most common crimes in China When it comes to different types of crimes, theft and fraud are far the most common crimes committed in China. In 2023, these two categories accounted for around 60 percent of all criminal incidents. Theft was also the crime that decreased most in recent years, while technological options for property protection and surveillance in general have improved significantly. The number of murders was relatively low at 5,443 cases, which was around 0.39 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

In 2023, New Mexico had the highest burglary rate in the United States. That year, they had 517.9 occurrences per 100,000 residents. Washington followed with 481 incidents per 100,000 residents. What is burglary? Burglary in the United States is considered a felony or misdemeanor. It includes trespassing and theft, and going inside a building or car with the intent to commit any crime. Even if the crime is not necessarily theft, it is still illegal. Some states consider burglary committed during the day as housebreaking, not burglary. The Bureau of Justice Statistics defines it as unlawful or forcible entry into a building. There are four types of burglary in total: completed burglary, forcible entry, unlawful entry, and attempted forcible entry. Burglary in the United States Burglary affects all 50 states in the United States, as burglary was the third most common type of property crime in the United States in 2023. California had the highest number of reported burglaries in that same year, whereas New Hampshire had the lowest number. However, the overall reported burglary rate in the United States has decreased significantly since 1990.

In 2023, 1,104,212 property and violent crimes were reported in California - the most out of any state. Texas followed behind, with 806,610 reported crimes. However, as the FBI estimates national trends of crime by asking law enforcement agencies across the country to self-report their crime data, the reported number of crimes committed in each state is dependent upon whether they provided the information to the Bureau's crime reporting system. For example, the state of Florida reported only 7.7 percent of their crime data in 2022, raising the question of whether Florida has again failed to report the majority of their crimes in 2023 and if they should be higher up on this list. As many states have neglected to report all of their crime data to the FBI in the last few years, the total numbers may not accurately represent the number of crimes committed in each state.

In 2023, there were 1,440 incidents of race-based hate crimes in residences or homes - the most common location in that year. The second most common location, with 1,111 incidents, were highways, roads, alleys, streets, and sidewalks.