Violent Crime Rate Continues Two Decade Fall, Says FBI

The Washington Post is reporting today that the latest Federal Bureau of Investigation figures show that the U.S. violent crime has continued to fall:

Government figures released two weeks ago said that violent crime has fallen by 65 percent since 1993….

The FBI's data showed that the South accounted for 41.3 percent of violent crime, while the West accounted for 22.9 percent. The Midwest claimed 19.5 percent of the cases and the Northeast, 16.2 percent.

Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults reported to authorities all declined last year. According to the FBI's data for last year:

—14,612 people were murdered, down 14.7 percent from 17,128 in 2007.

—83,425 people were raped, down 9.4 percent from 92,160 in 2007.

—354,396 people were robbed, down over 20 percent from 447,324 in 2007.

—751,131 people were assaulted, down 13.3 percent from 866,358 in 2007.

The FBI data derive from police reports of crimes. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice issued the results from its annual Crime Victimization Survey which found that violent crime had actually increased by 18 percent in the last year. It is generally thought that only about half of crimes are reported to the police. As the Post article explained:

Two weeks ago, the victimization survey reported that violent crimes jumped 18 percent last year, the first rise in nearly 20 years, while property crimes rose for the first time in a decade. Academic experts say the survey data fall short of signaling a reversal of the long-term decline in crime….

The victimization survey found that the increase in the number of violent crimes was due largely to an upward swing in simple assaults, which rose 22 percent, from 4 million in 2010 to 5 million last year. The incidence of rape, sexual assault and robbery remained largely unchanged, as did serious violent crime involving weapons or injury.

Think how much lower still the crime rate would be if the government would end its War on Drugs.