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Crime
Curated research on crime, crime rates, and victimization
On this page, the Prison Policy Initiative has curated all of the research about crime and rates of crime that we know of. For research on other criminal justice topics, see our Research Library homepage.
Criminal Victimization, 2022Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2023“Despite the recent increase, the last three decades saw an overall decline in the violent victimization rate from 79.8 to 23.5 per 1,000 from 1993 to 2022.”
Jail Populations, Violent Crime, and COVID-19: Findings from the Safety and Justice Challenge CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance, March, 2023“The public narrative that jail population reform leads to an increase in violent crime makes for attention-grabbing headlines, but it is not backed by any evidence-based research.”
Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Arrests in CaliforniaPublic Policy Institute of California, February, 2023“California experienced persistent declines of 5 percent for felony arrests and 40 percent for misdemeanor arrests until at least July 2021--resulting in a rare near-convergence of these two arrest types.”
Is Bail Reform Causing an Increase in Crime?Don Stemen and David Olson, January, 2023“We considered eleven bail-reform jurisdictions to determine the effect, if any, of these policy changes on crime. Violent crime trends after reforms present no clear or obvious pattern in these jurisdictions.”
Pandemic, Social Unrest, and Crime in U.S. Cities Year-End 2022 Update Council on Criminal Justice, January, 2023“There were 3.5% fewer aggravated assaults in 2022 than in 2021. The number of gun assaults dropped by 7% in 2022, but this trend is based on data from just 11 cities and should be viewed with additional caution.”
Violent crime and public prosecution: A Review of Recent Data on Homicide, Robbery, and Progressive Prosecution in the United States Todd Foglesong et al, October, 2022“We find no evidence to support the claim that progressive prosecutors were responsible for the increase in homicide during the pandemic or before it.”
When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2020 Homicide Data Violence Policy Center, September, 2022“This is the first analysis of the 2020 data on female homicide victims to offer breakdowns of cases in the 10 states with the highest female victim/male offender homicide rates.”
Criminal Victimization, 2021Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2022“From 1993 to 2021, the rate of violent victimization declined from 79.8 to 16.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.”
The Victim/Offender Overlap and Criminal System ReformCynthia Godsoe, May, 2022“Beyond definitions of what is criminal, recognizing the [victim/offender] overlap complicates and even undercuts traditional rationales for punishment...while also strengthening the calls for a different approach to preventing and redressing harm.”
Criminal Victimization, 2020Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2022“From 2016 to 2020, the percentage of persons who were victims of aggravated assault declined from 0.25% to 0.20%. The percentage who were victims of simple assault declined from 0.70% in 2016 to 0.61% in 2020.”
Stalking Victimization, 2019Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2022“About 1.3% (3.4 million) of all persons age 16 or older were victims of stalking in 2019. Less than a third (29%) of all stalking victims reported the victimization to police in 2019.”
A Prosecutorial Solution to the Criminalization of HomelessnessAndrew I. Leaf, U. of Penn. Law Review, November, 2021“If prosecutors decline to prosecute, and offer a diversion program to, those who are in or looking to join the workforce, much of the harm antihomeless laws inflict would be alleviated.”
Air Pollution and Criminal Activity: Microgeographic Evidence from Chicago Paywall :(Evan Herrnstadt et al, October, 2021“We compare crime upwind and downwind of major highways on days when wind blows orthogonally to the road...we find that air pollution increases violent crime on the downwind sides of interstates.”
Hate Crime Recorded by Law Enforcement, 2010-2019Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2021“The number of [hate] incidents decreased 17% from 2010 to 2014, before increasing 25% from 2015 to 2019. By comparison, the total volume of reported crime-- both hate and nonhate incidents--decreased 22% during the 10-year period.”
Hate Crime Victimization, 2005-2019Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2021“On average, U.S. residents experienced approximately 246,900 hate crime victimizations each year between 2005 and 2019.”
Misdemeanor ProsecutionAmanda Y. Agan, Jennifer L. Doleac, and Anna Harvey, March, 2021“We find that, for the marginal defendant, nonprosecution of a nonviolent misdemeanor offense leads to large reductions in the likelihood of a new criminal complaint over the next two years.”
Immigration and Crime: A Public Policy Red Herring CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance, January, 2021“Despite fears that more immigration leads to higher rates of violent crime, one of the most consistent findings among research on this topic is that increases in immigration are associated with decreases--not increases--in violent offenses.”
Reducing Violence Without Police: A Review of Research Evidence John Jay College of Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation Center, November, 2020“Non-policing approaches to violence prevention can produce significant benefits without the attendant harms of policing and punishment.”
Dollars and Sense in Cook County: Examining the Impact of General Order 18.8A on Felony Bond Court Decisions, Pretrial Release, and Crime Safety and Justice Challenge, November, 2020“GO18.8A also had no impact on new criminal activity or new violent criminal activity of those defendants released.”
Decarceration and Crime During COVID-19ACLU, July, 2020“Over this time period, we found that the reduction in jail population was functionally unrelated to crime trends in the following months.”
How to find and interpret crime data during the coronavirus pandemic: 5 tips Prison Policy Initiative, April, 2020“We outline five things to keep in mind about crime data trends during the pandemic, including a few tips for where to look for information about your local area.”
The effect of pollution on crime: Evidence from data on particulate matter and ozone Jesse Burkhardt et al, November, 2019“We find a robust positive effect of increased air pollution on violent crimes, and specifically assaults, but no relationship between increases in air pollution and property crimes.”
The Effect of Sentencing Reform on Crime Rates: Evidence from California's Proposition 47 Patricio Dominguez-Rivera, Magnus Lofstrom, and Steven Raphael, July, 2019“We find little evidence that the changes in correctional populations, arrests, and convictions reclassifications ushered in by California's proposition 47 impacted violent crime rates in the state.”
Immigrants' Deportations, Local Crime and Police EffectivenessAnnie Laurie Hines and Giovanni Peri, June, 2019(We find that Secure Communities-driven increases in deportation rates did not reduce crime rates for violent offenses or property offenses.)
California Crime Survivors Speak: A Statewide Survey of California Victims' Views on Safety and Justice Californians for Safety and Justice, April, 2019“By a nearly a five to one margin, victims say that prison either makes it more likely someone will commit crimes or has no public safety impact at all. Only a small percentage believe that prisons help rehabilitate people.”
Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment of Street Lighting in New York City Crime Lab New York & Science in Service of Cities, April, 2019“After accounting for potential spatial spillovers, we find that the provision of street lights led, at a minimum, to a 36 percent reduction in nighttime outdoor index crimes.”
The Next Step: Ending Excessive Punishment for Violent Crimes The Sentencing Project, April, 2019“Excessive penalties for violent crimes are not only ineffective--incapacitating people who no longer pose a public safety threat and producing little deterrent effect--they also divert investment from more effective public safety programs.”
Crime in 2018: Updated Analysis Brennan Center for Justice, December, 2018“This analysis updates the September report and finds that, where data were available, rates of crime, violent crime, and murder in major American cities are estimated to decline through the end of 2018.”
Can We Downsize Our Prisons and Jails Without Compromising Public Safety? Findings from California's Prop 47 Bradley J. Bartos and Charis E. Kubrin, August, 2018“Our findings reveal that Prop 47 had no effect on homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, and burglary. At the same time, we find that larceny and motor vehicle thefts appear to have increased moderately.”
Crime is in the Air: The Contemporaneous Relationship between Air Pollution and Crime Malvina Bondy, Sefi Roth, and Lutz Sager, April, 2018“The results suggest that exposure to elevated levels of air pollution is associated with increased crime rates...the effect is stronger for types of crime which tend to be less severe and...appears to be unevenly distributed across resident income groups.”
The Scale of Misdemeanor JusticeMegan T. Stevenson and Sandra G. Mayson, March, 2018(There are 13.2 million misdemeanor cases filed in the United States each year, but contrary to conventional wisdom, this number is not rising. There are, however, profound racial disparities in the misdemeanor arrest rate for most offense types.)
Crime in 2017: Updated Analysis Brennan Center for Justice, December, 2017(This report finds that murder rates in major American cities are estimated to decline slightly through the end of 2017.)
Community and the Crime Decline: The Causal Effect of Local Nonprofits on Violent Crime Paywall :(Patrick Sharkey, Gerard Torrats-Espinosa, Delaram Takyar, October, 2017“We find strong evidence that establishment of community nonprofits had a substantively meaningful negative effect on murder, violent crime, and property crime.”
Access to Health Care and Criminal Behavior: Short-Run Evidence from the ACA Medicaid Expansions Jacob Vogler, September, 2017(This research article indicates that state Medicaid expansions have resulted in significant decreases in annual crime by 3.2 percent.)
The impacts of incarceration on crimeOpen Philanthropy Project, September, 2017“The best estimate of the impact of additional incarceration on crime in the United States today is zero. And, while that estimate is not certain, there is as much reason overall to believe that incarceration increases crime as decreases it.”
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2017Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2017“At midyear 2015, an estimated 2,510 inmates were confined in 76 Indian country jails. This was a 5.5% increase from the 2,380 inmates confined at midyear 2014 in 79 facilities.”
Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2015 - Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2017“In 2015, the rate of violent victimization against persons with disabilities (29.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older) was 2.5 times higher than the rate for persons without disabilities (11.8 per 1,000).”
The Prison Paradox: More Incarceration Will Not Make Us Safer Vera Institute of Justice, July, 2017“The impact of incarceration on crime is limited and has been diminishing for several years. Increased incarceration has no effect on violent crime and may actually lead to higher crime rates when incarceration is concentrated in certain communities.”
Measuring Public Safety: Responsibly Interpreting Statistics on Violent Crime Vera Institute of Justice, July, 2017“With a few exceptions that require targeted attention, violent crime rates are lower today than they have been at any point over the past four decades.”
PREA Data Collection Activities, 2017Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2017“Rates of youth-on-youth sexual assault in female-only juvenile facilities (5.3%) were more than three times greater than those in male-only facilities (1.5%).”
How Safe are Americans with Disabilities?: The Facts About Violent Crime and Their Implications Vera Institute of Justice, April, 2017“This brief provides basic information on disability in the United States. It explores what is known about violent victimization of people with disabilities and the factors that contribute to their higher risk of experiencing violent crime.”
Crime in 2016: A Preliminary AnalysisBrennan Center for Justice, September, 2016“The data analyzed for this report suggest that most Americans will continue to experience low rates of crime.”
Urban crime rates and the changing face of immigration: Evidence across four decades Robert Adelman, Lesley Williams Reid, Gail Markle, Saskia Weiss, and Charles Jaret, September, 2016“Our results indicate that immigration is consistently linked to decreases in violent (e.g., murder) and property (e.g., burglary) crime throughout the time period.”
Substance Abuse Treatment Centers and Local CrimeBondurant, Samuel R.; Lindo, Jason M.; and Swensen, Isaac D., September, 2016(This report finds that substance-abuse-treatment facilities reduce both violent and financially motivated crimes in an area, and that the effects are particularly pronounced for relatively serious crimes.)
Overview of Federal Criminal Cases: Fiscal Year 2015 United States Sentencing Commission, June, 2016“The 71,003 individual original cases reported to the Commission in fiscal year 2015 represent a decrease of 4,833 (6.4%) cases from fiscal year 2014.”
Is Downsizing Prisons Dangerous? The Effect of California's Realignment Act on Public Safety Criminology and Public Policy, May, 2016“Significant reductions in the size of prison populations are possible without endangering public safety.”
Crime in 2015: A Final Analysis Brennan Center for Justice, April, 2016“The data analyzed in this update support the initial report’s conclusion that Americans continue to experience low crime rates.”
Punishment Rate Measures Prison Use Relative to CrimeThe Pew Charitable Trusts, March, 2016“A more nuanced assessment of punishment than the ratio of inmates to residents is that of inmates to crime- what The Pew Charitable Trusts calls the 'punishment rate.'”
Was there a Ferguson Effect on crime rates in large U.S. cities?Journal of Criminal Justice, February, 2016“Our findings are largely consistent with longstanding criminological knowledge that changes in crime trends are slow and rarely a product of random shocks.”
Is Downsizing Prisons Dangerous? The Effect of California's Realignment Act on Public Safety Criminology and Public Policy, February, 2016“Significant reductions in the size of prison populations are possible without endangering public safety.”
Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January-June, 2015 Federal Bureau of Investigation, January, 2016(Preliminary figures indicate that law enforcement agencies throughout the nation showed an overall increase of 1.7 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention for the first 6 months of 2015 when compared with the same time in 2014.)
Developmental Estimates of Subnational Crime Rates Based on the National Crime Victimization Survey Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2015“Developmental Estimates of Subnational Crime Rates Based on the National Crime Victimization Survey presents rates of violent and property crime victimization for the 50 states and select metropolitan statistical areas.”
Hate Crime Statistics, 2014Federal Bureau of Investigation, November, 2015“Of the 5,462 single-bias incidents reported in 2014, 47 percent were racially motivated. Other motivators included sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, gender identity, disability, and gender.”
Crime in 2015: A Preliminary Analysis Brennan Center for Justice, November, 2015“Crime overall in 2015 is expected to be largely unchanged from last year, decreasing 1.5 percent.”
Crime in the United States - 2014Federal Bureau of Investigation, September, 2015“The violent crime rate declined 1.0 percent compared to the 2013 rate, and the property crime rate declined 5.0 percent.”
Realignment and Crime in 2014: California's Violent Crime in Decline Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, August, 2015“Contrary to alarms raised about potential increases in crime, consistent reports examining offenses at the county level over time show Realignment and crime do not have a causal relationship.”
Overview of Federal Criminal Cases Fiscal Year 2014United States Sentencing Commission, August, 2015“Cases involving drugs, immigration, firearms, or fraud accounted for 81.5 percent of all cases reported to the Commission.”
Criminal Victimization, 2014Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2015“No significant change occurred in the rate of violent crime from 2013 (23.2 victimizations per 1,000) to 2014 (20.1 per 1,000).”
Was There a 'Ferguson Effect' on Crime in St. Louis?The Sentencing Project, June, 2015“Only the timing of the change in property crimes is fully consistent with a Ferguson effect. But temporal consistency is not a sufficient condition to establish substantive proof.”
The Role of Gun Supply in 1980s and 1990s Youth ViolenceAlan Bartley & Geoffrey Fain Williams, June, 2015(This report documents that the positive supply shock increased the availability of guns to criminally active youth and led to higher rates of gun access for young black men.)
Crime Against Persons With Disabilities, 2009-2013 - Statistical Tables Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2015“Presents estimates of nonfatal violent victimization (rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) against persons age 12 or older with disabilities from 2009 to 2013.”
Realignment, Incarceration, and Crime Trends in CaliforniaPublic Policy Institute of California, May, 2015(Violent crime rates remain unaffected by realignment, and although California's property crime rate decreased in 2013, it did not drop more than in comparable states--so the auto theft gap that opened up in 2012 has not closed.)
The Summons Report: Trends in the Issuance and Disposition of Summonses in New York City John Jay College of Criminal Justice, April, 2015“Overall, summonses are on the decline. This decline is driven by lower issuance rates among 16-17-year-olds and 18-20-year-olds, mainly for disorderly conduct.”
What Caused the Crime Decline?Brennan Center for Justice, February, 2015“In the 2000s, increased incarceration had no effect on violent crime and accounted for less than one-hundredth of the decade’s property crime drop.”
Corrections Statistics by StateNational Institute of Corrections, February, 2015“This unique compilation of data provides a visual representation of key statistics for each state as well as a comparison of each state in relation to other states.”
Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January-June 2014Federal Bureau of Investigation, January, 2015(Preliminary figures indicate that law enforcement agencies throughout the nation showed an overall decrease of 4.6 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention for the first 6 months of 2014 when compared with 2013 figures.)
Firearms and the incidence of arrest among respondents to domestic violence restraining orders Injury Epidemiology, 2015“Respondents linked to firearms were older than others and were more likely to have a history of prior arrest. The incidence of arrest was 20.6 % for respondents linked to firearms and 21.1 % for others.”
Sex Offender Law and the Geography of VictimizationJournal of Empirical Legal Studies, December, 2014“We find that, all else equal, reported sex offense victimization risk is generally (although not uniformly) lower in neighborhoods where more RSOs live.”
Report of Inquiry into Documentation of Sex Crime Investigations by Five Detectives in the Special Victims Section of the New Orleans Police Department Office of Inspector General City of New Orleans, November, 2014“Due to this total void of information, the investigators could not analyze 65% of the sex crime related calls for service assigned to the five detectives.”
Crimes Against the Elderly, 2003-2013Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2014(For the period 2003-13, elderly persons age 65 or older experienced nonfatal violent crime victimizations at lower rates than younger persons ages 12 to 24, 25 to 49, and 50 to 64.)
Most States Cut Imprisonment and CrimePew Charitable Trusts Public Safety Performance Project, November, 2014“Over the past five years, the majority of states have reduced their imprisonment rates while experiencing less crime.”
Household Poverty and Nonfatal Violent Victimization, 2008-2012Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2014“For the period 2008-12, persons living in poor households at or below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) (39.8 per 1,000) had more than double the rate of violent victimization as persons in high-income households (16.9 per 1,000).”
Criminal Victimization, 2013 (Revised)Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2014“The rate of violent crime declined slightly from 26.1 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 2012 to 23.2 per 1,000 in 2013.”
Prison and Crime: A Complex Link Pew Public Safety Performance Project, September, 2014“New York and Florida had divergent imprisonment rates, but both cut crime rates by the same amount.”
Close-Range Gunfire around DC SchoolsUrban Institute, September, 2014“Fifty-four percent of DC schools covered by gunfire-detection technology had at least one burst of gunfire occur within 1,000 feet of the school.”
Flint DDACTS Pilot Evaluation: Summary of Findings Michigan Justice Statistics Center, July, 2014“Indeed, the target areas experienced a 19 percent reduction in violent crime and a 30 percent reduction in robberies. This compared to 7 and 2 percent reductions, respectively, in the rest of the city.”
Seasonal Patterns in Criminal Victimization TrendsBureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2014“This report examines seasonal patterns in violent and household property victimization in the United States from 1993 to 2010.”
Predicting Crime through Incarceration: The Impact of Rates of Prison Cycling On Rates of Crime in Communities National Institute of Justice, May, 2014(The study found strong support for the impact of prison cycling on neighborhood crime rates, i.e., when resident removal rates due to incarceration were high, crime rates decreased; when reentry rates were high in a neighborhood, the crime rate increased.)
Nonfatal Domestic Violence, 2003-2012Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2014“In 2003-12, domestic violence accounted for 21% of all violent crime.”
Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex EconomyUrban Institute, March, 2014“The goals of this study were to: (1) derive a more rigorous estimate of the underground commercial sex economy (UCSE) in eight major US cities and (2) provide an understanding of the structure of this underground economy. To date, no reliable data exist..”
Hate Crime Victimization, 2004-2012 - Statistics Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2014“In 2012, victims perceived that the offender was motivated by bias against the victim's ethnicity in 51% of hate crimes... This was a statistically significant increase from 30% of hate crimes motivated by ethnicity bias in 2011 and 22% in 2004.”
Crimes Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2012 -Statistical Tables Bureau of Justice Statistics, February, 2014“Among persons ages 12 to 15, the unadjusted rate of violent victimization was nearly three times higher for persons with disabilities (123 per 1,000) than for persons without disabilities (43 per 1,000) in 2012.”
Trends in Unwanted Online Experiences and Sexting: Final Report Crimes Against Children Research Center, February, 2014“Unwanted sexual solicitations continued in decline -- from 19% in 2000 to 13% in 2005 and 9% in 2010.”
California's 58 Crime Rates: Realignment and Crime in 2012 Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, January, 2014“he present analysis finds California's 58 counties vary dramatically in their implementation of Realignment and in their respective crime rates.”
How Often and How Consistently do Symptoms Directly Precede Criminal Behavior Among Offenders With Mental Illness? Law and Human Behavior, 2014“Specifically, of the 429 crimes coded, 4% related directly to psychosis, 3% related directly to depression, and 10% related directly to bipolar disorder (including impulsivity).”
Hate Crime Statistics, 2013Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014(Some 5,928 hate crime incidents involving 6,933 offenses were reported by law-enforcement agencies last year.)
Victims of Identity Theft, 2012U.S. Department of Justice, December, 2013“About 7% of persons age 16 or older were victims of identity theft in 2012.”
Homicide in the U.S. Known to Law Enforcement, 2011Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2013“The U.S. homicide rate declined by nearly half (49%), from 9.3 homicides per 100,000 U.S. residents in 1992 to 4.7 in 2011, falling to the lowest level since 1963.”
Intimate Partner Violence: Attributes of Victimizations, 1993-2011 U.S. Department of Justice, November, 2013“From 1994 to 2011, the rate of serious intimate partner violence declined 72% for females and 64% for males.”
The Impact of the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program How Byrne JAG is Changing the Criminal Justice System National Criminal Justice Association, October, 2013“The Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program... is the nation's cornerstone crime-fighting program, supporting the federal government's crucial role in spurring innovation, as well as testing and replicating evidence-based practices in crime control...”
Criminal Victimization, 2012Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2013“The apparent increase in the number and rate of serious violent crime from 2011 to 2012 was not statistically significant.”
Violent Crime in U.S. Falls to New 32-Year LowJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice, October, 2013“Compared with trends since 1980, the arrest rate for violent youth crime reached a new low every year from 2009 through 2012.”
When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2011 Homicide Data Violence Policy Center, September, 2013“For homicides in which the victim to offender relationship could be identified, 94 percent of female victims (1,509 out of 1,601) were murdered by a male they knew.”
Measuring the Prevalence of Crime with the National Crime Victimization Survey Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2013“The percentage of violent crime victims who experienced two or more victimizations during a year declined from 23% in 1993 to 17% in 2010. In 2010, this 17% accounted for more than half (54%) of all violent victimizations.”
Highlights of the 2011 National Youth Gang SurveyOffice of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, September, 2013“Change estimates from 2010 to 2011 indicate a measurable increase in gangs and gang members and a nearly 8-percent drop in the number of recorded gang-related homicides.”
Crime in California 2012California Attorney General and California Department of Justice, August, 2013“The homicide rate remained at a rate 18 percent lower than the average homicide rate for the prior ten years.”
Household Burglary, 1994-2011Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2013“The rate of household burglary decreased 56% from 1994 to 2011. During this time period, households with an income of $14,999 or less were victimized at a higher rate than households with higher incomes.”
Investigating the Relationship Between Housing Voucher Use and CrimeFurman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy and the Moelis Institution for Affordable Housing Policy, April, 2013(Our research shows that crime is not following households with vouchers into neighborhoods. However, we do find a relationship between current crime and future voucher use, suggesting that households with vouchers are locating where crime is already high.)
Workplace Violence Against Government Employees, 1994-2011Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2013“In 2011, excluding law enforcement and security employees, the rate of workplace violence against government employees (8.7 per 1,000) was greater than the rate for private-sector employees (4.7 per 1,000).”
Effective Approaches for Reducing Prostitution in Texas: Proactive and Cost-Efficient Strategies to Help People Leave the Streets Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, April, 2013“There have been no studies that have shown prostitution to be a significant danger to public safety, whereas a tradition of punitive responses to prostitution has clearly demonstrated the high social and economic costs.”
Effective Approaches for Reducing Graffiti in Texas: Strategies to Save Money and Beautify Communities Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, March, 2013“Efforts aimed at eradicating graffiti should revolve around diversion of graffitists into positive, artistic endeavors that include communities, while reserving the prosecution of graffitists only for those who are involved in other, more serious crimes.”
Female Victims of Sexual Violence, 1994-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, March, 2013“From 1995 to 2010, the estimated annual rate of female rape or sexual assault victimizations declined 58%, from 5.0 victimizations per 1,000 females age 12 or older to 2.1 per 1,000.”
Hate Crime Victimization, 2003-2011Bureau of Justice Statistics, March, 2013“The percentage of hate crimes motivated by religious bias more than doubled between 2003-06 and 2007-11 (from 10% to 21%), while the percentage motivated by racial bias dropped slightly (from 63% to 54%).”
Wrong Way for Texas The Driver Responsibility Program: A Texas-Sized Failure Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, February, 2013“Surcharges levied under the DRP are significantly higher for DWI offenses than those assessed for other traffic offenses. Over the past decade, Texas' rate for alcohol-impaired fatalities has increased compared to other states.”
Do Foreclosures Cause Crime?Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, February, 2013“Foreclosure starts have a positive and significant impact on crime. An additional foreclosure start in the prior quarter is associated with a in increase of 0.7% in total crime, 1.5% in violent crime, and 0.8% in public order crimes.”
More Prisoners Versus More Crime is the Wrong QuestionBrookings Institution, 2013“...America's current approach to crime control is woefully inefficient. Much greater crime control could be achieved at lower human and financial cost.”
Crime Against Persons with Disabilities, 2009-2011 Statistical TablesBureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2012“The average annual age-adjusted rate of violent victimization for persons with disabilities (48 per 1,000 persons with disabilities) was more than twice the rate among persons without disabilities (19 per 1,000 persons without disabilities) in 2011.”
Violent Crime Against Youth, 1994-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2012“The rate of serious violent crime against youth ages 12 to 17 involving weapons declined by 80% from 1994 to 2010, and the rate of serious violent crime involving serious injury decreased by 63%.”
Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2012“From 1994 to 2010, the overall rate of intimate partner violence in the United States declined by 64%, from 9.8 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older to 3.6 per 1,000.”
Criminal Victimization, 2011Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2012“The rate of violent victimization increased 17%, from 19.3 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2010 to 22.5 in 2011.”
Victimizations Not Reported to the Police, 2006-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2012“From 2006 to 2010, a greater percentage of victimizations perpetrated by someone the victim knew well (62%) went unreported to police, compared to victimizations committed by a stranger (51%).”
Does Strengthening Self-Defense Law Deter Crime or Escalate Violence? Evidence from Castle Doctrine Texas A&M University, June, 2012“[R]esults indicate that castle doctrine laws increase total homicides by around 8 percent. Put differently, the laws induce an additional 600 homicides per year across the 21 states in our sample that enacted castle doctrine laws.”
Pay Now or Pay Much More Later Law Enforcement Leaders support high-quality early education to cut crime and save money in California Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, April, 2012“Research shows that high-quality preschool programs can significantly reduce felony arrests and incarceration rates and return $10 or more in savings for every dollar invested, with nearly 1/2 of the savings coming from lower prison & crime-related costs.”
Crime in the United States 2012Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2012“In 2012, an estimated 1,214,462 violent crimes occurred nationwide, an increase of 0.7 percent from the 2011 estimate.”
Violent Victimization Committed by Strangers, 1993-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2011“In 2010, strangers committed about 38% of nonfatal violent crimes, including rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.”
Homicide Trends In The United States, 1980-2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2011“Males represented 77% of homicide victims and nearly 90% of offenders. The victimization rate for males was 3 times higher than the rate for females. The offending rate for males was almost 9 times higher than the rate for females.”
Identity Theft Reported by Households, 2005-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2011“The increase in identity theft victimization from 2005 to 2010 was largely attributable to an increase in the misuse or attempted misuse of existing credit card accounts.”
Criminal Victimization, 2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2011“the rate of total violent crime victimizations declined by 13% in 2010, which was about three times the average annual decrease observed from 2001 through 2009 (4%).”
Hate Crime, 2003-2009Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2011“In nearly 90% of hate crime victimizations occurring between 2003 and 2009, the victim suspected the off ender was motivated by racial or ethnic prejudice or both.”
Characteristics Of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2008-2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2011“About 8 in 10 of the suspected incidents of human trafficking were classified as sex trafficking, and about 1 in 10 incidents were classified as labor trafficking.”
Methods for Counting High-Frequency Repeat Victimizations in the National Crime Victimization Survey Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2011“While violent series victimizations have declined in number and proportion over time, the characteristics of these victimizations have exhibited little change.”
Profile of Inmate Population Under Custody on January 1, 2011State of New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, April, 2011“The majority of inmates under custody (60%) self-reported at the time of admission to the Department that they had at least one living child.”
Workplace Violence, 1993-2009Bureau of Justice Statistics, March, 2011“From 2002 to 2009, the rate of nonfatal workplace violence has declined by 35%, following a 62% decline in the rate from 1993 to 2002.”
Sex Offender Registries: Fear without Function? University of Chicago, February, 2011“The results from all three data sets do not support the hypothesis that sex offender registries are effective tools for increasing public safety.”
Turning the Corner on Mass Incarceration?Georgetown University Law Center, 2011“Criminal justice policies and practices are largely determined at the state and local levels, and practices vary widely among the states and even among cities, towns, and counties within a single state.”
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2010Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2010“In 2008, among students 12-18, there were about 1.2 million victims of nonfatal crimes at school, including 619,000 thefts and 629,800 violent crimes.”
Victims Of Identity Theft, 2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2010“The unauthorized misuse or attempted misuse of an existing credit card was the most prevalent type of identity theft (53% of all victims).”
Crime Against People with Disabilities, 2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2010“Persons with disabilities age 12 or older experienced violent crime at age-adjusted rates that were 2 to 3 times that of persons without disabilities for each violent crime measured (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.”
Hot Spots of Juvenile Crime Findings From Seattle US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, October, 2010“Juvenile crime was concentrated in public and commercial areas where youth gather—schools, youth centers, shops, malls, and restaurants—rather than residential areas.”
Gang Units In Large Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2010“Of the 337 gang units that reported their year of establishment, 35% were formed between 2004 and 2007. The year 2006 marked the peak of gang unit formation with 43 new units created.”
Criminal Victimization, 2009Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2010“The overall victimization rate for violent crimes declined from 19.3 to 17.1 victimizations per 1,000 persons between 2008 and 2009.”
Victimization During Household BurglaryBureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2010“Offenders were known to their victims in 65% of violent burglaries; offenders were strangers in 28%.”
Profile of Inmate Population Under Custody on January 1, 2010 (New York)State of New York Department of Correctional Services, May, 2010“Forty percent (40%) of female inmates were serving a sentence for a Violent Felony crime compared to 61% for male inmates. In contrast, 24% of female inmates were sentenced for a drug crime compared to 17% percent of male inmates.”
Federal Firearms Cases, FY 2008Ronald J. Frandsen, Michael N. Bowling, Ph.D., January, 2010“The mean prison sentence for defendants convicted in FY2008 and FY2007 pursuant to the Gun Control Act of 1968 was 90 months.”
Crime Against People with Disabilities, 2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2009“Age-adjusted rate of nonfatal violent crime against persons with disabilities was 1.5 times higher than the rate for persons without disabilities.”
Profile of Intimate Partner Violence Cases in Large Urban CountiesBureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2009(Most cases of intimate partner violence involved a charge of assault, either aggravated (12%) or simple (78%); an additional 5% were charged with intimidation, including stalking.)
Criminal Victimization, 2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2009“The violent crime rate declined by 41% and the property crime rate fell by 32% over the 10-year period.”
Fact Sheet Response to 2008 FBI Uniform Crime Report Justice Policy Institute, September, 2009(The 2008 FBI Uniform Crime Report shows that during 2008, at a time in which prison and jail growth rates dropped, the United States experienced a 1.9 percent decline in violent crimes and a 0.8 percent decline in property crimes reported.)
Female Victims of ViolenceBureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2009“The rate of intimate partner violence against females declined 53% between 1993 and 2008, from 9.4 victimizations per 1,000 females age 12 or older to 4.3 per 1,000. Against males, the rate declined 54%.”
Profile of Inmate Population Under Custody on January 1, 2009 (New York)State of New York Department of Correctional Services, June, 2009“The majority of inmates under custody (59.2%) report at least one living child. Approximately 11% of under custody inmates reported four or more living children.”
Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2008Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2009“During the 2005–06 school year, 86 percent of public schools reported that at least one violent crime, theft, or other crime occurred at their school.”
Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Victims of CrimeBureau of Justice Statistics, March, 2009“From 2002 through 2006, the average annual rate of nonfatal violent victimization against Asians was about 11 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, compared to 24 per 1,000 persons for non-Asians.”
Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2007-08Bureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2009“Most (83%) of the reported incidents involved allegations of sex trafficking. Labor trafficking accounted for 12% of incidents, and other or unknown forms of human trafficking made up 5%.”
Stalking Victimization in the United StatesBureau of Justice Statistics, January, 2009“About half (46%) of stalking victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week, and 11% of victims said they had been stalked for 5 years or more.”
Criminal Victimization, 2007Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2008“Violent crime rates in 2007 (20.7 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older) were not significantly different from those in 2005 (21.1 per 1,000 persons).”
Cybercrime against Businesses, 2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2008“The 3,247 businesses that incurred monetary loss from cybercrime lost a total of $867 million”
Do More Prisoners Equal Less Crime? A Response to George WillSentencing Project, June, 2008“Will's selective use of data and limited vision provide an inaccurate portrayal of current criminal justice policy and its effects. [This piece] is an assessment of some of the key arguments raised in the column.”
Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2004Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2008“More than three-fourths of felony defendants had a prior arrest history, with 53% having at least five prior arrest charges.”
Crime, Corrections, and California: What Does Immigration Have to Do with It? Public Policy Institute of California, February, 2008“Immigrants are far less likely than the average U.S. native to commit crime in California.... Such findings suggest that longstanding fears of immigration as a threat to public safety are unjustified.”
Criminal Victimization, 2006Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2007“Males experienced higher levels of victimization than females. The rate of violent victimization for males was 26 violent victimizations per 1,000 males age 12 or older. Females experienced 23 violent victimizations per 1,000 females age 12 or older.”
Identity Theft, 2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2007“Ten percent of the households with incomes of $75,000 or higher experienced identity theft; that was about twice the percentage of households earning less than $50,000.”
I'd rather be Hanged for a Sheep than a Lamb The Unintended Consequences of 'Three-Strikes' Laws Radha Iyengar, Harvard University, October, 2007“Among third-strike eligible offenders, the probability of committing violent crimes increased by 9 percentage points.”
Black Victims of Violent CrimeBureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2007“Blacks accounted for 13% of the U.S. population in 2005, but were victims in 15% of all nonfatal violent crimes and nearly half of all homicides.”
Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies Justice Policy Institute, July, 2007(There are fewer gang members in the United States today than there were a decade ago, and there is no evidence that gang activity is growing.)
Profile of Inmate Population Under Custody on January 1, 2007 (New York)State of New York Department of Correctional Services, June, 2007“Of the 63,473 inmates under custody on February 17, 2007, 33,496 (52.8%) had a verified GED, high school diploma or higher degree, and 29,977 (47.2%) were without verified academic degrees.”
Veterans in State and Federal Prison, 2004Bureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2007“The percentage of veterans among State and Federal prisoners has steadily declined over the past three decades, according to national surveys of prison inmates conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.”
Crime and the Nation's Households, 2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2007“Households in the West were more likely to experience one or more crimes compared to households in other regions.”
Intimate Partner Violence in the United StatesBureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2006“Overall intimate partner violence during 2004 remained unchanged from 2003, although some demographic groups experienced an increase.”
Federal Prosecution of Human Trafficking, 2001-2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, October, 2006“Between 2001 and 2005, U.S. attorneys investigated 555 suspects in matters involving violations of Federal human trafficking statutes.”
Criminal Victimization, 2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2006“For most crimes, aggregated rates for the period 2004-05 were unchanged from the previous two year period 2002-03, while minor declines were seen for some forms of robbery and simple assault without injury.”
Federal Criminal Justice Trends, 2003Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2006“Drug offenses remained the most prevalent offense across stages over 10-year period.”
Violent Felons in Large Urban CountiesBureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2006“Eight-one percent of violent felons were sentenced to incarceration with 50% going to prison and 31% to jail. Nineteen percent received a probation term without incarceration.”
Evaluation of Milwaukee's Judicial Oversight DemonstrationUrban Institute, May, 2006“Judicial Oversight Demonstration (JOD) was associated with a reduced rate of arrest for domestic violence, an indication of gains in victim safety.”
Identity Theft, 2004Bureau of Justice Statistics, April, 2006“The report, based on interviews with 40,000 household residents drawn to be nationally representative, describes age, race, and ethnicity of the household head; household income; and location of the household (urbanicity).”
Sex Offender Sentencing in Washington State: Failure to Register As a Sex Offender Washington State Institute for Public Policy, January, 2006“[S]ex offenders with a conviction for failing to register have recidivism rates that are twice the rate of those without a conviction.”
Sex Offender Sentencing in Washington State: Notification Levels and Recidivism Washington State Institute for Public Policy, December, 2005“The notification levels determined by the ESRC do not classify sex offenders into groups that accurately reflect their risk for reoffending.”
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2005Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 2005“Annually, from 1999 through 2003, teachers were the victims of approximately 183,000 total nonfatal crimes at school, including 119,000 thefts and 65,000 violent crimes.”
Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2005State of Missouri Public Defender Commission, October, 2005“[B]y 2005 trial division attorneys average 298 cases, 27% more than the 1989 caseload standard.... At 17%, the Department's attorney turnover rate is simply too high.”
Criminal Victimization, 2004Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2005“The rate of violent crime dropped 9% from the period 2001-02 to the period 2003-04.”(Presents victimization rates for 2004.)
Georgia's Aging Inmate PopulationGeorgia Department of Corrections, June, 2004“Georgia, with a prison population in excess of 47,000 inmates has the sixth largest prison system in the nation. At the end of FY 2002 4,025 inmates, or nearly one in ten were 50 or older.”
Violent Victimization of College StudentsBureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2003“students were victims of violence overall at rates lower than those of nonstudents.”
Criminal Victimization, 2002Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2003(Overall violent victimization and property crime rates are the lowest recorded since recording began in 1973)
Reflections on the Crime Decline: Lessons for the Future? Urban Institute, August, 2002(builds upon the work of The Crime Drop in America, edited by Alfred Blumstein and Joel Wallman)
Third-Party Involvement in Violent Crime 1993-99 Bureau of Justice Statistics, July, 2002(Third parties include bystanders, other victims, household members, police officer, officers, instigators, or any combination of these.)
Criminal Victimization 2001: Changes 2000-2001 with Trends 1993-2001 Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002(dropped 10% in 2001; to half the rate it was in 1973 when the survey began)
Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99Bureau of Justice Statistics, December, 2001“Law enforcement officers most at risk for workplace violence”(This report presents data for 1993 through 1999 from the National Crime Victimization Survey estimating the extent of workplace crime in the United States.)
Hate Crime Statistics, 2000Federal Bureau of Investigation, November, 2001“This annual report captures information on bias-motivated incidents, the nature of the offense, and the characteristics of the victims and offenders.”(The UCR covers *reported* crime not actual crime.)
Crime in 2000Federal Bureau of Investigation, October, 2001“FBI reports no change in crime”(Uniform Crime Reports contains only reported crime)
Injuries from Violent Crime, 1992-98Bureau of Justice Statistics, June, 2001“On average each year between 1992 and 1998, 2.6 million of the 10.2 million victims of violent crime in the United States were injured in the victimization.”
Criminal Victimization 1999: Changes 1998-99 with Trends 1993-99 Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2000“National violent crime rate falls more than 10 percent -- Violent victimizations down one-third since 1993”
Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation's Youth Crimes Against Children Research Center, June, 2000“Approximately one in five received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the last year.”
Intimate Partner ViolenceBureau of Justice Statistics, May, 2000“Intimate partner violence against women declined from 1993 through 1998 -- One-third of all murdered females were killed by partner”
Crimes against Persons Age 65 or Older, 1992-97Bureau of Justice Statistics, March, 2000“People 65 years old and older less likely to be victims of violent crime than younger U.S. residents”
Dispelling the Myth: An Analysis of Youth and Adult Crime Patterns in California over the Past 20 Years Justice Policy Institute, March, 2000
Federal Enforcement of Environment Laws, 1997Bureau of Justice Statistics, November, 1999“Prosecutors investigated almost 1,000 individuals and businesses suspected of criminal environmental law violations”
Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community SafetyBureau of Justice Statistics, May, 1999“Survey in 12 cities show widespread community support for police: New process collects data on victimization, citizen perceptions of police and crime”
Youth Violence: Perception Versus Reality Urban Institute, May, 1999
Homicide Trends in the United StatesBureau of Justice Statistics, January, 1999“Nation's largest cities lead the way as homicides fall to lowest rate in three decades”
Crime and Justice Atlas 1999 UpdateUnited States Department of Justice, 1999“Between 1992 and 1997, 35 states, along with the District of Columbia, experienced decreased rates of serious violent crime.”
School House Hype: The School Shootings, and the Real Risks Kids Face in America Justice Policy Institute, July, 1998
Age Patterns of Victims of Serious Violent CrimeBureau of Justice Statistics, September, 1997“Presents data from the redesigned NCVS that examines violent crime across the general population, ages 12 or older.”
March 19, 2025: Join Prison Policy Initiative’s Advocacy Department at 1 PM EST on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, for a webinar about understanding recidivism. We will cover strategies from our recidivism toolkit, including an overview of recidivism statistics and what they really mean, how to combat the “Willie Horton” effect, and ways that advocates can transform the narrative around reentry to make it less focused on negative outcomes and more focused on the ways that returning citizens contribute to their communities.
