After a substantial drop in the 1990s, the instances of
robberies and burglaries – as well as crime overall – has
leveled off in the U.S. according to the FBI’s annual
Uniform Crime Report released Oct. 27.

There were an estimated 420,637 robberies in 2002, a 0.7-
percent decrease from 2001. The robbery rate nationwide was
145.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, and a majority of robbery
offenders – 42.1 percent – used firearms.

There was a slight increase in burglaries in 2002, with
2.15 million being reported for a 1.7-percent rise compared
to 2001. Forcible entry burglaries accounted for 62.8
percent of all offenses. The cost of crime had a steep
price in 2002, as losses due to burglary totaled $3.3
billion.

Overall crime figures saw little change last year, with an
increase of only one-tenth of 1 percent. Violent crimes
were down 0.9 percent, while property crime showed a small,
0.1-percent increase. Murders were up one percent in 2002,
with forcible rape seeing one of the higher increases among
violent crimes – 4.7 percent.

This year’s report included a special study on bank
robberies showing that only 20 percent of the money stolen
in robberies between 1996 and 2000 has been recovered. Also
during that time, violence and injury occurred in 2.3
percent of the bank robberies, and the amount of money
stolen was less than $5,000 per incident.

A comprehensive look at the FBI’s latest crime
statistics can be seen in the Industry Statistics section
of Security Sales & Integration’s 2004 Buyers’ Guide &
Fact Book, coming in December.

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