The Most Common United States Criminal Offenses
Crime occurs everywhere and all the time. This article is going to narrow down and discuss the four most common criminal offenses throughout the United States according to the Criminal Justice Degree Hub. Statistics will also be presented by the FBI Crime Data Explorer.
Larceny-Theft- At the top of the list is larceny-theft, which falls under the category of property crime. The FBI’s UCR (Uniform Crime Report), defines larceny-theft as, ‘the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.’ This can include bikes, car parts, shoplifting or pick-pocketing. The most recent data collected comes from larceny-theft reports in 2020. According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, in the United States, there were 2,453,533 incidents reported to NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System).
Burglary- Second on the list is burglary, which is also in the category of property crime. The FBI’s UCR defines burglary as, ‘the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.’ This includes: attempted forcible entry, forcible entry and forcible entry without a weapon. The FBI Crime Data Explorer reports there were 522,426 incidents of burglary in 2020.
Motor-Vehicle Theft- Next, is motor-vehicle theft, another property crime defined as, ‘the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle,’ which can include cars, trucks, motorcycles and just about any type of vehicle with a motor. There were 406,953 reports of motor-vehicle theft in 2020.
Aggravated Assault- Coming in at number four ranks aggravated assault, defined as, ‘an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury, typically involving the use of a weapon.’ Examples of this include, physical injuries to an individual resulting in broken bones (punch, slap, kick, etc.) or physical injury/threats involving a weapon, assault against healthcare workers or police officers and assault with the intent to commit another violent crime. Reported were 360,168 incidents of aggravated assault in 2020.
