WASHINGTON – The estimated volume of property crime in the United States decreased 1.5 percent in 2005, but the estimated volume of violent crime in the country increased 2.3 percent, when compared with 2004 data, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2005 edition of Crime in the United States, a statistical compilation of offense and arrest data reported by law enforcement agencies nationwide.

More than 17,000 city, county, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies, representing 94 percent of the U.S. population, voluntarily participated in the program, notes the FBI.

Statistics provided in Crime in the United States, 2005, include:

• There were an estimated 1,390,695 violent crimes reported in the United States in 2005
• The estimated volume of robbery increased 3.9 percent, murder and non-negligent manslaughter increased 3.4 percent, and aggravated assault increased 1.8 percent from 2004 figures
• An estimated 10,166,159 property crimes were reported in 2005
• Burglary was the only property crime to show an increase (0.5 percent) in the estimated volume when compared with 2004 data
• Law enforcement agencies cleared 45.5 percent of violent crimes and 16.3 percent of property crimes nationwide in 2005
• Law enforcement agencies nationwide made an estimated 14.1 million arrests in 2005

In further looking at the numbers, noted security experts Dr. Rosemary Erickson and Sandra Erickson, of Athena Research Corp., point out that even with the increase in 2005, violent crime is down 3.4 percent over the five-year period from 2001 to 2005. However, over the same period, murder has increased 4.1 percent. Also, over the last decade, robberies have decreased 22.1 percent, according to the Athena team.

The latest UCR also examines crime in specific industries. The Athena team also reports that convenience store robbery volume decreased 3.4 percent from 2004 to 2005, and is down 14.3 percent over the five-year period from 2001 to 2005. Meanwhile, gas station robbery was up 9.1 percent from 2004 to 2005, and down only 1.7 percent from 2001 to 2005.

In examining percent distribution of robbery volume, convenience store robbery accounted for 5.7 percent of all robberies in 2005, while gas station robberies accounted for another 2.8 percent.

“While you will read reports that crime has been decreasing for a decade, it has in fact been increasing in certain categories and in certain geographic areas off and on ever since 2000, and this trend continues with this report for 2005,” notes the authors in their report, "Summary and Interpretation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report, 2005" (PDF).

“It is especially significant that the largest increases are in the more violent crimes of murder and robbery, each up almost 4 percent this past year. The trend is largely due to the increasing numbers in the crime-committing age group of 18 to 25,” according to the Athena team.

“These upticks in violent crime vary widely by geographic area and city size, and they sound an alarm for redoubling efforts for robbery and violence prevention in the stores throughout the country,” Dr. Erickson, who has been following these crime trends for over 20 years says for the industry, told NACS Daily.
 
Log on to the FBI's Web site to access the Uniform Crime Report.