For Immediate Release
Sunday May 7, 2000
6 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

UCR 1999 Preliminary Annual Report (pdf)

According to preliminary data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serious crime continued to fall in 1999, marking the eighth consecutive annual decrease nationwide. The data collected by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program show a 7-percent decline in reported serious crime from the 1998 totals.

Preliminary figures indicate that the downward trend is the result of a 7-percent decrease in both violent and property crimes when compared with figures for the previous year. Final figures for 1999 will be available this fall.

Both murder and robbery registered 8-percent drops, the largest decreases in the violent crime category. Forcible rape and aggravated assault figures each declined by 7 percent from the 1998 figures. In the property crime category, burglary figures represented the greatest reduction, 11 percent. Motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson also fell 8, 6, and 5 percent, respectively.

Law enforcement agencies in all regions reported declines in their Crime Index totals. A 10-percent decrease was recorded by agencies in the West, and those in the Midwest noted a decline of 8 percent. The Northeast experienced 7-percent fewer Crime Index offenses and the South, 4 percent. Drops in violent crime were noted in the Midwest and in the West, 9 percent each; the Northeast, 8 percent; and in the South, 4 percent. All regions showed a decrease in the number of murders as well. The South registered the greatest drop, 10 percent. Other regional declines in the number of murders include the Midwest and the West at 7 percent each and the Northeast at 4 percent. Property crime also fell across the Nation, by 10 percent in the West, 8 percent in the Midwest, 7 percent in the Northeast, and 4 percent in the South.

Cities nationwide reported decreases in serious crime. Those with populations of 25,000 to 99,999 inhabitants registered an 8-percent drop, and cities with over 500,000 inhabitants showed the smallest decrease, 6 percent. Compared with the 1998 figures, an 8-percent decline was recorded in suburban counties, and a 7-percent decrease was noted in rural counties.

Over 17,000 city, county, and state law enforcement agencies voluntarily submit data to the nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of the FBI's UCR Program. These comprehensive data are published annually in Crime in the United States.

The FBI's Internet site http://www.fbi.gov provides the complete preliminary annual UNIFORM CRIME REPORT.