Line chart with two lines; aggravated assault and simple assault, 1973 to 2008. Simple assault , the most common but least serious violent crime measured by the NCVS, has occurred historically at rates higher than aggravated assault. During the 1990's, people were victims of simple assaults at 3 times violent crime rate of aggravated assault.
For aggravated assault, violent crime rate per 1,000 persons began at 12.5 in 1973 and rose to 12.9 in 1974. After 1974, violent crime rate decreased to 4.3 in 2002, before increasing to 4.6 in 2003. It then fell to 3.3 in 2008.
For simple assault, violent crime rate per 1,000 persons began at 25.9 in 1973 and decreased to 25.3 in 1974. Then violent crime rate climbed to 30.3 in 1979, before falling, reaching 28.8 in 1980. Then it rose to 30.3 in 1981, before decreasing to a low of 25.3 in 1986. The rate then increased to 31.5 in 1994, before decreasing to 12.9 in 2008.