Crime rates from police records

To the chart data

Notes on figures 5-10: Crimes that were officially recorded in police statistics provided the data for the graphics. Victims of all ages are counted in police statistics. For these graphics, murder was defined as murder or nonnegligent manslaughter in the United States, and murder/manslaughter or infanticide in England; rape was defined in both countries as forcible penetration of a female; robbery was defined in both countries as all types of robbery (both residential and commercial robberies); assault was defined as aggravated assault in the United States, and wounding in England; burglary was defined in both countries as all types of burglary (both residential and commercial); motor vehicle theft was defined in both countries as all thefts of motor vehicles (both residential and commercial, both completed and attempted).

Police in both the United States and England (including Wales) keep annual statistics on the volume of crime that comes to their attention. According to latest police statistics (1996) --

police-recorded murders totaled 19,650 in the United States and 681 in England
police-recorded rapes totaled 95,770 in the United States and 5,759 in England
police-recorded robberies totaled 537,050 in the United States and 74,035 in England
police-recorded assaults totaled 1,029,810 in the United States and 228,636 in England
police-recorded burglaries totaled 2,501,500 in the United States and 1,164,583 in England
police-recorded motor vehicle thefts totaled 1,395,200 in the United States and 493,489 in England.

The higher volume of crime recorded by the police in the United States is due, at least in part, to the larger population of the United States (265 million in 1996) as compared to that of England and Wales (52 million). A more meaningful comparison is between the crime rates of the two countries.

According to latest police statistics (1996), is the serious crime rate higher in the United States or England?

In 1996, rates of murder, rape, and robbery recorded by the police were all higher in the United States than in England, while assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft rates were all higher in England than in the United States.

According to police statistics for 1996 --

the U.S. murder rate was 5.7 times higher than England's (0.074 per 1,000 population versus 0.013) (figure 5)
the U.S. rape rate was about 3 times higher than England's (0.71 per 1,000 female population versus 0.22) (figure 6)
the U.S. robbery rate was 1.4 times higher than England's (2.0 versus 1.4) (figure 7)
the English assault rate was 1.1 times higher than the U.S. rate (4.4 versus 3.9) (figure 8)
the English burglary rate was 2.4 times higher than the U.S. rate (22.4 versus 9.4) (figure 9)
the English motor vehicle theft rate was 1.8 times higher than the U.S. rate (9.5 versus 5.3) (figure 10).

According to police statistics, is the crime rate increasing or decreasing in each country?

U.S. crime rates as measured in police statistics generally (all crimes except burglary) fell in the early 1980's, rose thereafter until around 1993, and then fell again (figures 5-10). For murder, robbery, and burglary recorded by the police, the latest U.S. rates (1996) are the lowest recorded in the 16-year period from 1981 to 1996. By comparison, crime rates as measured in English police statistics have all risen since 1981. For rape, robbery, and assault recorded by the police, the latest English rates (1996) are the highest recorded since 1981 (figures 6, 7, and 8).

The major exception to the U.S. pattern is the steady decline in the burglary rate since 1981. The major exception to the English pattern is downturns since 1993 in rates of burglary and motor vehicle theft.

According to police statistics --

the English murder rate rose slightly after 1981 (0.011 per 1,000 population in 1981, 0.013 in 1996), while the U.S. rate fell in the early 1980's, increased thereafter until 1991, and then fell again, reaching a 16-year low in 1996 (0.098 in 1981, 0.074 in 1996) (figure 5)
the English rape rate rose almost continuously after 1981, reaching a 16-year high in 1996 (0.04 per 1,000 female population in 1981, 0.22 in 1996), while the U.S. rate fell in the early 1980's, rose thereafter until 1992, and then fell again, returning in 1996 to its 1981 level (0.7) (figure 6)
the English robbery rate rose fairly continuously since 1981, reaching a 16-year high in 1996 (0.4 in 1981, 1.4 in 1996), while the U.S. rate fell in the early 1980's, rose thereafter until 1991, and then fell again, reaching a 16-year low in 1996 (2.59 in 1981, 2.02 in 1996) (figure 7)
the English assault rate rose fairly continuously since 1981, reaching a 16-year high in 1996 (2.0 in 1981, 4.4 in 1996), while the U.S. rate fell in the early 1980's, rose thereafter until 1992, and then fell again (2.9 in 1981, 3.9 in 1996) (figure 8)
the English burglary rate generally rose from 1981 to 1993 and fell thereafter (14.5 in 1981, 22.4 in 1996), while the U.S. rate fell fairly continuously after 1981, reaching a 16-year low in 1996 (16.5 in 1981, 9.4 in 1996) (figure 9)
the English motor vehicle theft rate generally rose from 1981 to 1993 and fell thereafter (6.7 in 1981, 9.5 in 1996), while the U.S. rate fell in the early 1980's, rose thereafter until 1991, and then fell again (4.7 in 1981, 5.3 in 1996) (figure 10).

As a result of different crime trends in the two countries --

the police-recorded U.S. murder rate was 8.7 times England's in 1981 but 5.7 times in 1996 (figure 5)
the police-recorded U.S. rape rate was 17 times England's in 1981 but 3 times in 1996 (figure 6)
the police-recorded U.S. robbery rate was 6 times England's in 1981 but 1.4 times in 1996 (figure 7)
the police-recorded U.S. assault rate was 1.5 times England's in 1981, but in 1996 the English assault rate was slightly higher than America's (figure 8)
the police-recorded U.S. burglary rate was slightly higher than England's in 1981, but in 1996 the English burglary rate was more than double America's (figure 9)
the police-recorded English motor vehicle theft rate went from 1.4 times America's in 1981 to nearly 2 times in 1996 (figure 10).

Chart data - in spreadsheets

	Figure 5		Figure 6		Figure 7
	Murder		Rape		Robbery
Year	United States	England	United States	England	United States	England
1981	0.0983	0.0113	0.7059	0.0419	2.5875	0.4086
1982	0.0907	0.0125	0.6671	0.0525	2.3890	0.4603
1983	0.0825	0.0111	0.6614	0.0523	2.1650	0.4452
1984	0.0791	0.0125	0.6993	0.0561	2.0538	0.4997
1985	0.0795	0.0124	0.7283	0.0719	2.0854	0.5494
1986	0.0855	0.0132	0.7439	0.0890	2.2515	0.5985
1987	0.0826	0.0137	0.7340	0.0959	2.1270	0.6485
1988	0.0841	0.0124	0.7378	0.1105	2.2089	0.6227
1989	0.0866	0.0126	0.7464	0.1275	2.3297	0.6544
1990	0.0942	0.0132	0.8086	0.1304	2.5703	0.7115
1991	0.0979	0.0142	0.8288	0.1550	2.7272	0.8869
1992	0.0931	0.0134	0.8383	0.1582	2.6363	1.0315
1993	0.0951	0.0130	0.8060	0.1749	2.5585	1.1245
1994	0.0896	0.0141	0.7699	0.1912	2.3775	1.1625
1995	0.0822	0.0144	0.7273	0.1890	2.2095	1.3137
1996	0.0741	0.0131	0.7079	0.2177	2.0244	1.4235


	Figure 8		Figure 9		Figure 10
	Assault		Burglary		Motor vehicle theft
Year	United States	England	United States	England	United States	England
1981	2.8973	1.9749	16.4947	14.4736	4.7472	6.7009
1982	2.8915	2.1422	14.8881	16.2334	4.5885	7.0794
1983	2.7921	2.1936	13.3767	16.2706	4.3076	6.5558
1984	2.9021	2.2411	12.6373	17.9266	4.3708	6.9224
1985	3.0294	2.3762	12.8730	17.3371	4.6197	7.3498
1986	3.4608	2.4349	13.4455	18.5722	5.0776	8.1946
1987	3.5131	2.7252	13.2958	17.8872	5.2946	7.7418
1988	3.7025	3.0396	13.0920	16.1981	5.8294	7.2635
1989	3.8338	3.3894	12.7627	16.2976	6.3036	7.7627
1990	4.2413	3.5126	12.3594	19.7919	6.5775	9.7151
1991	4.3332	3.5940	12.5198	23.8643	6.5894	11.3875
1992	4.4181	3.7923	11.6821	26.4304	6.3148	11.4643
1993	4.4032	3.8388	10.9915	26.6254	6.0607	11.6161
1994	4.2759	4.0568	10.4202	24.3444	5.9126	10.4947
1995	4.1833	3.9263	9.8761	23.9190	5.6048	9.8118
1996	3.8819	4.3960	9.4295	22.3915	5.2593	9.4883

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Page last revised on December 11, 1998

Crime and Justice in the United States and in England and Wales, 1981-96

Crime rates from police records

Crime and Justice in the United States
and in England and Wales, 1981-96