WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI says the number of violent crimes reported to law enforcement last year dropped by 4.4 percent from 2012.
The crime statistics released by the FBI on Monday also showed a longer-term decline, over the last five years, in both violent crime and property crime.
The report is based on voluntarily reported statistics from more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies. It covers crimes including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
The report says the number of violent crimes reported to law enforcement last year was roughly 1.16 million, down significantly from the 2012 estimate.
Attorney General Eric Holder called the drop in violent crime a "remarkable achievement" that's part of a continuing trend.
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Highlights from Crime in the United States, 2013:
- During 2013, law enforcement made an estimated 11,302,102 arrests (including 480,360 for violent crimes and 1,559,284 for property crimes). The highest number of arrests were for drug abuse violations (estimated at 1,501,043), larceny-theft (estimated at 1,231,580), and driving under the influence (estimated at 1,166,824).
- There were an estimated 14,196 murders last year.
- Aggravated assaults (an estimated 724,149 last year) accounted for the largest percentage of violent crimes reported to law enforcement—62.3 percent.
- Firearms were used in 69 percent of the nation’s murders, 40 percent of robberies, and 21.6 percent of aggravated assaults (weapons data is not collected on rape incidents).
- There were an estimated 79,770 rapes (legacy definition) reported to law enforcement.
- Victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $4.5 billion in property losses, and burglaries of residential properties accounted for 74 percent of the total reported.
- Larceny-thefts accounted for the largest percentage of property crimes reported to law enforcement—69.6 percent. (The average value of property taken during larceny-thefts was $1,259.)
- During 2013, an estimated 699,594 motor vehicles were reported stolen, and 73.9 percent of those were cars. (Other types of stolen vehicles included trucks, sport utility vehicles, buses, motorcycles, motor scooters, all-terrain vehicles, and snowmobiles).
