Violent crime was up 3.3% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to preliminary data from the FBI’s quarterly Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system. This includes a 25% increase in the homicide rate. The recent uptick in violent crime is a change from more than 30 years of decreases in property and violent crime. Data shows crime spiked across all categories in the early 1990s and have steadily decreased since with few exceptions. Meanwhile, property crime decreased by 7.9% in 2020.
The FBI UCR database contains reports from about 70% of US law enforcement agencies, ranging from urban to rural areas and across geographic regions. The UCR includes law enforcement agencies of all levels, including city, county, state, tribal, and federal agencies. Large cities might overlap between multiple law enforcement agencies with each reporting data to the FBI. The finalized 2020 data will be available this fall.
Law enforcement agencies reported almost 1.3 million violent crimes in 2020, a rate of about 390 per 100,000 people. Violent crime reached a peak in 1992 with almost 2 million offenses reported, or a rate of 750 per 100,0000. Most of the decreases came from drops in aggravated assaults and robberies, which are almost 90% of violent crime in the US.
