US violent crime decreased 15% in 2019: DOJ report News
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US violent crime decreased 15% in 2019: DOJ report

US violent crime rates decreased 15 percent in 2019, according to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) latest National Criminal Victimization Survey (NCVS) report on Monday.

The decrease in the rate of violent crime from 2018 to 2019 reverses a four-year increase. This represents a drop from 1.4 million victims of violent crimes to 1.2 million—the same as reported in 2015.

The decrease remains consistent across race, gender and socio-economic lines. BJS statisticians found a 27 percent decrease in the rate of violent victimizations among females. Overall, 29 percent fewer Black people and 22 percent fewer white people were victims of serious crimes, like burglary or motor vehicle theft. Finally, crime rates in urban areas saw a 20 percent decrease.

The full report includes additional data about the nature of the crimes, how often they are reported, and the demographics of both offenders and victims.

The Department of Justice is currently collecting data for its 2020 report, but it is still unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected criminal activity and data collection overall.

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