National and Statewide Violent Crime Statistics for 2018
Recently reported statistics are showing some decreases in violent crime in the United States, at least from 2017 to 2018. Based on an overview of the data compiled and analyzed in the FBI’s 2018 Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the estimated number of violent crimes nationwide in 2018 decreased by more than three percent from 2017. In addition, the estimated number of crimes per 100,000 people in 2018 decreased by almost four percent from 2017.
The FBI data considers four offenses in collecting the data used for this result: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, robbery, rape and aggravated assault. The FBI report provides particular statistics for these crimes nationally, discussed below.
Nationwide Statistics: Percent Increases by Violent Crime
Statistics for 2018 indicate that:
- the number of estimated murders in the United States decreased by over six percent from 2017.
- the estimated number of rapes reported to law enforcement increased by 2.7 percent since 2017
- the number of robberies decreased 12 percent from the 2017 estimate
- the number of aggravated assaults decreased .4 percent compared with 2017 estimates
Violent Crime in Nevada, Statewide
Based on the FBI data, a 24/7 Wall Street report ranked all of the states in the United States in terms of their number of violent crimes per 100,000 residents. According to this report, Nevada ranks behind Alaska, New Mexico, Tennessee and Arkansas as the state with the fifth highest incidence of violent crime. Notably, according to this report, the total estimated number of violent crimes fell by 1.5 percent in Nevada in 2018, as compared to 2017. Also, Nevada led the nation in percentage-wise declines in the rate of murders and robberies, although its increase in the number of rapes was the second largest among the states for the 2017 to 2018 period.
Offenses Known to Nevada Law Enforcement, by City
The FBI has also collected data for smaller geographic regions and provides statistics for crime in Nevada by city. Statistics for violent crimes known to law enforcement by city in 2018 show the following Nevada cities with the most significant number of such offenses:
- Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (9,949)
- North Las Vegas (2,386)
- Reno (1,636)
- Henderson (583)
- Sparks (508)
Not surprisingly, these cities are also among the most highly populated in the list.
For specific violent crimes, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has the highest total number of specific violent crimes known to law enforcement:
- murder (and nonnegligent manslaughter) (120)
- robbery (2690)
- rape (1,610)
- aggravated assault (5,529)
For More Information About Specific Crimes
It can be interesting and useful to review the violent crime statistics presented and note the trends that have been observed in the FBI report and by others, such as the 24/7 Wall Street report, who have studied and compiled the relevant data.
Of course, when it comes to preparing a defense for an individual charged with a crime, knowing the facts and circumstances of each individual case, and each specific crime charged, is key. If you have been charged with a crime, contact an experienced Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer at Lobo Law.
Resources:
ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018/topic-pages/violent-crime
usatoday.com/story/money/2020/01/13/most-dangerous-states-in-america-violent-crime-murder-rate/40968963/
https://www.lvcriminallawfirm.com/identity-theft-statistics-and-nevada-state-laws/
