{{Short description|Quantitative data on criminal behavior}} {{Criminology}} '''Crime statistics''' quantitatively describe levels of criminal behaviour in society, but should not be thought of as objective measures of ''crime itself''. Official statistics, or those generated by law enforcement agencies, report the crimes reported to police. They are reasonably accurate for crimes such as auto theft, but systematically underestimate under-reported crimes such as sexual assault.
To better estimate levels of crime, criminologists and other scholars conduct victimisation and self-offending surveys that ask the public about their direct experience of crime, as victims and offenders respectively. However, even these crime statistics are thought to underestimate actual levels.
Crimes unmeasured by crime statistics are called the dark figure of crime.
== Methods == There are three major methods for collecting crime data: official statistics, which count crimes reported to police; victimisation surveys, which ask representative samples of the population about crimes committed against them; and, self-offending surveys, which ask representative samples of the population about their own criminal behaviour.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Crime Measurement |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment |last=Gilmore |first=Lance E. |year=2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118519639.wbecpx127 |access-date=March 3, 2026 |orig-date=December 28, 2015 |doi=10.1002/9781118519639.wbecpx127 |last2=Poyer |first2=Brittany|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
=== Official statistics ===
==== Counting rules ==== Relatively few standards exist{{Clarify|reason=Few international standards? Relative to what? What standards do exist?|date=February 2026}} and none that permit international comparability beyond a very limited range of offences{{Clarify|reason=Which offences?|date=February 2026}}.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} However, many jurisdictions{{Clarify|reason=Which jurisdictions?|date=February 2026}} accept the following{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}: * There must be a ''prima facie'' case that an offence has been committed before it is recorded. That is either police find evidence of an offence or receive a believable allegation of an offense being committed. Some jurisdictions count offending only when certain processes happen, such as an arrest is made, ticket issued, charges laid in Court or only upon securing a conviction.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} * Multiple reports of the same offence usually count as one offence. Some jurisdictions count each report separately, others count each victim of offending separately.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} * Where several offences are committed at the same time, in one act of offending, only the most serious offense is counted.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Some jurisdictions record and count each and every offense separately, others count cases, or offenders, that can be prosecuted.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} * Where multiple offenders are involved in the same act of offending only one act is counted when counting offenses but each offender is counted when apprehended.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} * Offending is counted at the time it comes to the attention of a law enforcement officer.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Some jurisdictions record and count offending at the time it occurs.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} * As "only causing pain" is counted as assault in some countries, it let higher assault rates except in Austria, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} But there are exceptions, like Czech Republic and Latvia.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} France was the contrasting exception having a high assault ratio without counting minor assaults.<ref>[http://www.europeansourcebook.org/ob285_full.pdf European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics – 2010] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215512/http://www.europeansourcebook.org/ob285_full.pdf |date=March 3, 2016 }}, fourth edition, p30.</ref> Offending that is a breach of the law but for which no punishment exists is often not counted.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} For example: Suicide, which is technically illegal in most countries, may not be counted as a crime, although attempted suicide and assisting suicide are.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
Also traffic offending and other minor offending that might be dealt with by using fines rather than imprisonment, is often not counted as ''crime''.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} However separate statistics may be kept for this sort of offending.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
==== Classification ==== While most jurisdictions could probably agree about what constitutes a murder, what constitutes a homicide may be more problematic{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}, while a crime against the person could vary widely.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Legislation differences often mean the ingredients of offences vary between jurisdictions.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
The International Crime Victims Survey has been done in over 70 countries to date and has been a 'de facto' standard for defining common crimes.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Complete list of countries<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unicri.it/services/library_documentation/publications/icvs/data/participating_20countries.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418111902/http://www.unicri.it/services/library_documentation/publications/icvs/data/participating_20countries.pdf|title=UNCRI ICVS participating countries|archivedate=April 18, 2016}}</ref> participating and the 11 defined crimes<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unicri.it/services/library_documentation/publications/icvs/data/overview2000cati.PDF|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034747/http://www.unicri.it/services/library_documentation/publications/icvs/data/overview2000cati.PDF|title=UNCRI ICVS overview|archivedate=March 4, 2016}}</ref> can be found at the project web site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicri.it/services/library_documentation/publications/icvs/|title=ICVS website|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314205131/http://www.unicri.it/services/library_documentation/publications/icvs/|archive-date=2016-03-14}}</ref>
In March 2015 the UNODC published the first version of the "International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes" (ICCS).<ref name="e983">{{cite web | title=International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS) Version 1.0, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime | url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/crime/ICCS/ICCS_English_2016_web.pdf | access-date=17 August 2024}}</ref>
=== Surveys === Because of the difficulties in quantifying how much crime actually occurs, researchers generally take two approaches{{Clarify|reason=What are the two approaches?|date=February 2026}} to gathering statistics about crime.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
These surveys also give insights as to why crime is reported, or not.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} The surveys show that the need to make an insurance claim, seek medical assistance, and the seriousness of an offence tend to increase the level of reporting, while the inconvenience of reporting, the involvement of intimate partners and the nature of the offending tend to decrease reporting.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
These findings allow degrees of confidence to be assigned to various crime statistics.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} For example: Motor vehicle thefts are generally well reported because the victim may need to make the report for an insurance claim, while domestic violence, domestic child abuse and sexual offences are frequently significantly under-reported because of the intimate relationships involved, embarrassment and other factors that make it difficult for the victim to make a report.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
Attempts to use victimisation surveys from different countries for international comparison has failed in the past.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} A standardised survey project called ''the International Crime Victims Survey''{{Clarify|reason=What about this survey?|date=February 2026}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rechten.uvt.nl/icvs |title=The 5th round of International Crime Victims Surveys |publisher=rechten.uvt.nl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201125851/http://rechten.uvt.nl/icvs/ |archive-date=2013-02-01 }}</ref> Results from this project have been briefly discussed earlier in this article.
== Limitations == For less frequent crimes such as intentional homicide and armed robbery, reported incidents are generally more reliable than victimization or self-report studies, but suffer from under-recording; for example, no criming in the United Kingdom sees over one third of reported violent crimes being not recorded by the police.<ref name="hmic-victims">{{Cite web|url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/news/news-feed/victims-let-down-by-poor-crime-recording/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304145307/http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/news/news-feed/victims-let-down-by-poor-crime-recording/|title=Victims let down by poor crime-recording|archivedate=March 4, 2016|website=His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) – Home}}</ref> Because laws and practices vary between jurisdictions, comparing crime statistics between and even within countries can be difficult: typically only violent deaths (homicide or manslaughter) can reliably be compared, due to consistent and high reporting and relative clear definition.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
The U.S. has two major data collection programs, the Uniform Crime Reports from the FBI and the National Crime Victimization Survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} However, the U.S. has no comprehensive infrastructure to monitor crime trends and report the information to related parties such as law enforcement.<ref name=NRCUnderstanding>{{cite book |author=Committee on Understanding Crime Trends, U.S. National Research Council |year=2008 |title=Understanding Crime Trends: Workshop Report |publisher=National Academies Press |doi=10.17226/12472 |isbn=978-0-309-12586-4 |url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12472#toc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219193853/http://nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12472#toc |archive-date=2009-02-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Mobile makes list of "Deadliest US Cities" | date=3 January 2025 | url=https://wynnfieldmobile.com/mobile-makes-list-of-deadliest-us-cities/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Mobile had highest violent crime rate among cities reported in 2021: FBI | date=3 January 2025 | url=https://wynnfieldmobile.com/mobile-had-highest-violent-crime-rate-among-cities-reported-in-2021-fbi/ }}</ref>
In official statistics, officers can only record crime that comes to their attention and might not record a matter as a crime if the matter is considered minor and is not perceived as a crime by the officer concerned.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
Victimisation surveys ask respondents if they are victims of crime, without needing to provide any supporting evidence.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} In these surveys it is the participant's perception that a crime occurred that is being measured.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} As a consequence, differing methodologies may make comparisons with other surveys difficult.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
== International trends == Research using a series of victim surveys in 18 countries of the European Union, funded by the European Commission, has reported (2005) that the level of crime in Europe has fallen back to the levels of 1990, and notes that levels of common crime have shown declining trends in the U.S., Canada, Australia and other industrialized countries as well.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} The European researchers say a general consensus identifies demographic change as the leading cause for this international trend.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Although homicide and robbery rates rose in the U.S. in the 1980s, by the end of the century they had declined by 40%.<ref name=NRCUnderstanding/>
However, the European research suggests that "increased use of crime prevention measures may indeed be the common factor behind the near universal decrease in overall levels of crime in the Western world", since decreases have been most pronounced in property crime and less so, if at all, in contact crimes.<ref>{{cite book |author=Van Dijk, J. J. M., van Kesteren, J. N. & Smit, P. |year=2008 |title=Criminal Victimisation in International Perspective, Key findings from the 2004-2005 ICVS and EU ICS |location=The Hague |publisher=Boom Legal Publishers |url=http://english.wodc.nl/images/ob257_full%20text_tcm45-103353.pdf |access-date=June 27, 2013 |pages=99–104 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120065651/http://english.wodc.nl/images/ob257_full%20text_tcm45-103353.pdf |archive-date=January 20, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Van Dijk, J. J. M. |author2=Manchin, R. |author3=Van Kesteren, J. |author4=Nevala, S. |author5=Hideg, G. |year=2005 |title=The Burden of Crime in the EU. Research Report: A Comparative Analysis of the European Crime and Safety Survey (EU ICS) 2005 |url=http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/intervict/burdenofcrimefinal.pdf |access-date=May 5, 2008 |pages=21–23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221124606/http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/intervict/burdenofcrimefinal.pdf |archive-date=February 21, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Kesteren, J. N. van |author2=Mayhew, P. |author3=Nieuwbeerta, P. |year=2000 |title=Criminal victimization in seventeen industrialized countries: key findings from the 2000 International Crime Victims Survey |access-date=March 23, 2023 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47734799 |pages=98–99 }}</ref>
== Statistical measures of crime == More complex measures{{Clarify|reason=More complex measures than what?|date=February 2026}} involve measuring the numbers of discrete victims and offenders as well as repeat victimisation rates and recidivism.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Repeat victimisation involves measuring how often the same victim is subjected to a repeat occurrence of an offence, often by the same offender.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Repetition rate measures are often used to assess the effectiveness of interventions.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}
Other measures:
* Crime rate, the number of crimes per unit of population, usually per 100,000 people. * Crime clearance rate, the percentage of crimes solved. * Crime harm index, in which crimes are weighted based on how much "harm" they cause.
==List of crime statistics== {{div col}} * Assault#Statistics * Bribery#Statistics * Burglary#Statistics * Domestic violence#By country * Estimates of sexual violence#By country * Fraud#Statistics * Gang population * Global Organized Crime Index * Intimate partner sexual violence#Incidence by country * Kidnapping#Statistics * List of countries by intentional homicide rate ** Homicide statistics by gender * List of countries by incarceration rate * List of countries with annual rates and counts for killings by law enforcement officers * List of prison deaths * Money laundering#Statistics * Moral statistics * Motor vehicle theft#Statistics * People smuggling#Statistics * Rape statistics * Robbery#Robbery statistics * Sexual assault#By country * Theft#Statistics {{div col end}}
===By country=== * Crime in the United States * United States cities by crime rate * Crime statistics in the United Kingdom
==See also== {{div col}} * Capital punishment by country * Clearance rate * Crime drop * Crime science * Dark figure of crime * High-trust and low-trust societies * Immigration and crime * List of national legal systems * National Incident-Based Reporting System * Questionnaire * Self report study * Statistical correlations of criminal behaviour * The International Crime Victims Survey * Victim study * Victimology {{div col end}}
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{Commons category|Crime statistics}} * {{cite book |last=Van Dijk |first=J. J. M. |year=2008 |title=The World of crime; breaking the silence on problems of crime, justice and development |location=Thousand Oaks |publisher=Sage Publications }} * {{cite book |last=Catalano |first=S. M. |year=2006 |title=The Measurement of Crime: Victim Reporting and Police Recording |location=New York |publisher=LFB Scholarly Pub. |isbn=1-59332-155-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/measure_cat_2006_00_6290 }} * {{cite book |last=Jupp |first=V. |year=1989 |title=Methods of Criminological Research |series=Contemporary Social Research Series |location=London |publisher=Unwin Hyman |isbn=0-04-445066-4 }} * {{cite book |last=Van der Westhuizen |first=J. |year=1981 |title=Measurement of crime |location=Pretoria |publisher=University of South Africa |isbn=0-86981-197-5 }} * {{cite book |last1=Van Dijk |first1=J. J. M. |last2=van Kesteren |first2=J. N. |last3=Smit |first3=P. |year=2008 |title=Criminal Victimisation in International Perspective, Key findings from the 2004-2005 ICVS and EU ICS |location=The Hague |publisher=Boom Legal Publishers |url=http://rechten.uvt.nl/icvs/pdffiles/ICVS2004_05.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625184952/http://rechten.uvt.nl/icvs/pdffiles/ICVS2004_05.pdf |archive-date=2008-06-25 }}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20161024175651/http://www.crime-statistics.co.uk/ crime-statistics.co.uk], UK Crime Statistics and Crime Statistic Comparisons * [https://archive.today/20130105191708/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/344eyaxi.asp?pg=1 A Continent of Broken Windows] – Alexander, Gerard ''The Weekly Standard'' (Volume 11, Issue 10, 21 November 2005) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160428023232/http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/ United States: Uniform Crime Report -- State Statistics from 1960 - 2005] * [https://archive.today/20111022033208/http://www.brain-gain.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59:experience-and-communication-as-factors-explaining-criminal-risk-perception&catid=56:cat-crime-perception&Itemid=92&lang=de Experience and Communication as explanations for Criminal Risk Perception] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305143934/https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/october/annual-crime-in-the-u.s.-report-released/annual-crime-in-the-u.s.-report-released Regional crime rates 2011] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160602124958/https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/november/crime-statistics-for-2013-released Crime statistics for 2013 released], FBI
{{World topic|prefix=Crime statistics in|title=Crime statistics by country|noredlinks=yes}} {{Law country lists}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Crime statistics Category:Law enforcement