For Immediate Release
October 17, 1999

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

Crime in the United States, 1998

With the publication of Crime in the United States, 1998, the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that reported serious crime decreased nationwide for the seventh consecutive year. The final 1998 statistics released by the Bureau's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program reveal that reported serious crime, comprising both violent and property crimes, was down 5 percent from the 1997 level and 11 percent from the 1994 figures.

According to the FBI, violent crime totals declined 6 percent and property crime totals dropped 5 percent compared to the previous year's totals.

For violent crimes, the reductions in 1998 from 1997 totals included robbery, 10 percent; murder, 7 percent; aggravated assault, 5 percent; and forcible rape, 3 percent. In 1998, the number of violent crimes was 18 percent below the 1994 level and 7 percent below the 1989 level.

For property crimes, the reductions in 1998 from 1997 levels totaled motor vehicle theft, 8 percent and burglary and larceny-theft, 5 percent each. In 1998, the number of property crimes was 10 percent below the 1994 level and 13 percent below the 1989 level.

The 6-percent decline in reported serious crime in the Nation's cities overall and suburban counties was only slightly higher than the 5-percent decrease in rural areas.

Based on reports from approximately 17,000 city, county, and state law enforcement agencies, Crime in the United States, 1998, contains the most current national crime data available. Estimates are included for nonreporting areas.

Highlights from the 1998 edition include:

Crime Volume

• The 1998 Crime Index total of approximately 12.5 million offenses represents a 5-percent decline from the 1997 figure. Five- and 10-year comparisons show the 1998 national total has dropped 11 percent since 1994 and 12 percent since 1989.
• The South, with 35 percent of the Nation's population, recorded 40 percent of total reported crime in 1998; the West, with 22 percent of the population, accounted for 24 percent; the Midwest, with 23 percent of the population, 22 percent; and the Northeast, comprising 19 percent of the population, accounted for 14 percent. Crime dropped 7 percent in both the Northeast and West, 5 percent in the South, and 4 percent in the Midwest.
  

Crime Rate

• The 1998 Crime Index rate of 4,616 offenses per 100,000 United States inhabitants was 6 percent lower than the 1997 rate, 14 percent below the 1994 rate, and 20 percent lower than the 1989 figure.
• Regionally, the Crime Index rate in the South was 5,223 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants; in the West, 4,879; in the Midwest, 4,379; and the Northeast, 3,474. All regions reported rate declines from 1997 levels.
• Cities outside the Nation's metropolitan areas recorded a Crime Index rate of 4,987 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants; Metropolitan Statistical Areas recorded 4,975 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants; and rural counties, 1,998 per 100,000 inhabitants.
  

Violent Crime

• There were an estimated 1.5 million violent crimes during 1998. The rate of 566 violent crimes for every 100,000 inhabitants was the lowest since 1985.
• All individual violent crimes (murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) declined in volume and rate from the 1997 levels.
• Data collected on weapons used in connection with violent crimes showed personal weapons (hands, fists, and feet) were used in 31 percent of all murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults, collectively. Aggravated assault accounted for 64 percent of all violent crimes in 1998; robbery accounted for an additional 29 percent; and murder for the lowest number1 percent. Firearms were used in 25 percent of violent crimes; knives or cutting instruments in another 15 percent, and other dangerous weapons were involved in 28 percent.
  

Property Crime

• All property crime categories (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in 1998 decreased in volume and rate.
• The estimated property crime total, 11 million offenses, was 5 percent lower than the 1997 total.
• The 1998 property crime rate dropped 6 percent from the previous year's rate to 4,049 offenses per 100,000 population.
• Estimates place the financial losses associated with stolen property at more than $15.4 billion in 1998, an average loss per offense of $1,407.
  

Hate Crime

• In 1998, a total of 7,755 hate crime incidents were reported; 4,321 were motivated by racial bias; 1,390 by religious bias; 1,260 by sexual-orientation bias; 754 by ethnic bias; 25 by disability bias; and 5 were multiple-bias incidents.
• A total of 10,461 agencies covering nearly 214 million of the U.S. population participated in hate crime data collection.
• Crimes against persons comprised 68 percent of the 9,235 offenses reported. Among the crimes against persons, intimidation accounted for 55 percent of the total; simple assault and aggravated assault accounted for 27 percent and 17 percent, respectively; murder and rape each accounted for less than 1 percent.
  
  

Crime Clearances

• Law enforcement agencies nationwide recorded a 21-percent Crime Index clearance rate in 1998. The clearance rate for violent crimes was 49 percent; for property crimes, 17 percent.
• Among the Crime Index offenses, the clearance rate was highest for murder, 69 percent; and lowest for burglary and motor vehicle theft, 14 percent each.
• Offenses involving only juvenile offenders (under 18 years of age) accounted for 19 percent of the Crime Index offenses cleared; 12 percent of the violent crime clearances; and 21 percent of the property crime clearances.
  

Arrests

• Law enforcement agencies made an estimated 14.5 million arrests for all criminal infractions, excluding traffic violations, in 1998, a decrease of 1 percent over the previous year's figure. The highest estimated arrest counts were for drug abuse violations at approximately 1.6 million. Driving under the influence arrests were gauged at over 1.4 million. There were an estimated 1.3 million arrests each for larceny-theft and simple assault. The number of arrests in proportion to the total U.S. population was 5,534 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants.
• From 1997 to 1998, juvenile arrests decreased 4 percent while adult arrests fell 1 percent. Violent crime arrests of juveniles decreased 8 percent and those of adults declined 4 percent.
• Of all persons arrested in 1998, 45 percent were under the age of 25 and 18 percent were under the age of 18. Juveniles were most frequently arrested for larceny-theft; adults were most often arrested for drug abuse violations.
• Of those individuals arrested, 78 percent were male, and 68 percent were white.
• Thirty percent of all arrests were for drug abuse violations and alcohol-related offenses. Females were most often arrested for the offense of larceny-theft. Males were most often arrested for drug abuse violations.
  

Murder

• The number of murders in 1998 was estimated at nearly 17,000, which is 7 percent lower than the 1997 total and 28 percent lower than in 1994. The murder rate was 6 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, the lowest figure since 1967.
• Based on supplemental data received for 14,088 of the estimated murders, 88 percent of murder victims in 1998 were persons aged 18 years or older and 76 percent were male. The percentage of white and black murder victims was 50 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
• According to data submitted on 16,019 murder offenders, 89 percent of the assailants were male, 88 percent were 18 years of age or older, 49 percent of the offenders were black, and 49 percent were white. The remaining offenders were persons of other races.
• Fifty-one percent of murder victims knew their assailants. Among all female murder victims, 32 percent were slain by husbands or boyfriends, and 4 percent of the male victims were slain by wives or girlfriends.
• Thirty-two percent of all murders were a result of arguments, and 18 percent resulted from felonious activities such as robbery, arson, and other crimes.
• Data indicate that murder is most often an intraracial offense. In 1998, 94 percent of black murder victims were slain by black offenders. Eighty-seven percent of white victims were slain by white offenders.
• Six out of every ten reported murders were committed with a firearm.
  

Forcible Rape

• The estimated total of 93,103 forcible rapes reported to law enforcement during 1998 was the lowest total in a decade.
• Approximately 67 of every 100,000 females in the country were reported rape victims in 1998, a rate that is 4 percent lower than in 1997.
  

Robbery

• Robbery declined 10 percent in 1998 as compared to 1997 levels. Estimated robbery totals were 446,625 or 165 robberies per 100,000 population nationwide.
• Nearly $446 million in monetary loss was attributed to property stolen in connection with this offense. Bank robberies resulted in the highest average loss, $4,516 per offense; gas or service station robberies the lowest, $546.
• Street or highway robberies accounted for slightly less than half of the offenses in this category.
• Strong-arm tactics were used in 40 percent of all robberies committed in 1998, and firearms were used in 38 percent. Knives or cutting instruments were involved in 9 percent of the total robberies, and other weapons in 13 percent.
  

Aggravated Assault

• An estimated 974,402 aggravated assaults were reported to law enforcement in 1998, down 5 percent from the 1997 total.
• Aggravated assault accounted for 64 percent of the violent crimes in 1998.
• Blunt objects or other dangerous weapons were used in 36 percent of aggravated assaults in 1998. Personal weapons such as hands, fists, and feet were used in 27 percent of reported incidents; firearms in 19 percent; and knives or cutting instruments in 18 percent.
  

Burglary

• An estimated 2.3 million burglaries were reported to law enforcement in 1998, a decline of 5 percent from the 1997 level. Residences were the target of 2 of every 3 burglaries.
• Overall burglary losses were estimated at $3.1 billion in 1998.
• Sixty-five percent of all burglaries involved forcible entry, and 53 percent occurred during daylight hours. The average loss for residential burglaries was $1,299 and for nonresidential, $1,432.
  

Larceny-theft

• Of the three property crime offenses reported (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft), larceny-theft, with an estimated total of 7.4 million offenses, comprised 67 percent of the property crime total for the year.
• The total dollar loss to victims nationwide due to larceny-theft was nearly $4.8 billion in 1998. Property loss averaged $650 per offense.
• Thirty-six percent of the reported larcenies involved the theft of motor vehicle parts, accessories, and contents.
  

Motor Vehicle Theft

• In 1998, an estimated 1.2 million motor vehicles were reported stolen nationwide, representing an 8-percent drop in motor vehicle thefts from the 1997 levels and the lowest number since 1986.
• The estimated total value of vehicles stolen nationwide was nearly $7.5 billion. The estimated average value of stolen motor vehicles at the time of theft was $6,030 per vehicle.
• Seventy-six percent of all vehicle thefts involved automobiles. Trucks and buses accounted for 19 percent, and the remainder included other types of vehicles.
  

Arson

• A total of 78,094 arson offenses were reported in 1998, a 7-percent decline from the previous year's total.
• Structures were the most frequent targets of arsonists, comprising 47 percent of the reported incidents. Residential property was involved in 61 percent of the structural arsons during the year, and 43 percent of these structural arsons were directed at single-family dwellings.
• The monetary value of property damaged due to reported arsons averaged $12,561 per incident.
• Persons under the age of 18 were involved in 45 percent of arson crimes cleared by law enforcement in 1998. Of the eight Crime Index offenses, arson had the highest percentage of juvenile involvement.
  

Law Enforcement Employees

• A total of 13,865 city, county, and state police agencies reporting to the UCR Program provided law enforcement services to nearly 260 million inhabitants of the United States in 1998. Collectively, these agencies employed 641,208 officers and 253,327 civilians.
• The average rate of 2.5 full-time officers for every 1,000 inhabitants across the country was unchanged from the 1997 total.
• The Nation's cities collectively employed 2.4 officers per 1,000 inhabitants; rural law enforcement, 2.5 officers per 1,000; and suburban law enforcement, 2.6 per 1,000.
• The highest rate of sworn officers to population was recorded in the Northeastern States, with 2.8 officers per 1,000 inhabitants.
• Civilians made up 28 percent of the total United States law enforcement employee force in 1998.