Crime in the United States has been recorded since colonization.
Crime rates have varied over time, with a sharp rise after 1963, reaching a broad peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. Since then, crime has declined significantly in the United States, and current crime rates are approximately the same as those of the 1960s. Statistics on specific crimes are indexed in the annual
Uniform Crime Reports by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and by annual
National Crime Victimization Surveys by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics. In addition to the primary Uniform Crime Report known as
Crime in the United States, the FBI publishes annual reports on the status of
law enforcement in the United States. The report's definitions of specific crimes are considered standard by many American law enforcement agencies. According to the FBI,
index crime in the United States includes violent crime and property crime. Violent crime consists of four criminal offenses:
murder and non-negligent manslaughter,
forcible rape,
robbery, and
aggravated assault; property crime consists of
burglary,
larceny,
motor vehicle theft, and
arson.