Supplementary Homicide Data—The UCR Program’s supplementary homicide data provide information regarding the age, sex and race of the murder victim and the offender; the type of weapon used; the relationship of the victim to the offender; and the circumstance surrounding the incident. Law enforcement agencies are asked—but not required—to provide complete supplementary homicide data for each murder they report to the UCR Program. Information gleaned from these supplementary homicide data can be viewed in the Expanded Homicide Data section.

Justifiable homicide Certain willful killings must be reported as justifiable or excusable. In the UCR Program, justifiable homicide is defined as and limited to:

The killing of a felon by a peace officer in the line of duty.
The killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen.

Because these killings are determined through law enforcement investigation to be justifiable, they are tabulated separately from murder and nonnegligent manslaughter.

More information about justifiable homicide is furnished in the Expanded Homicide Data section and in Expanded Homicide Data Table 14, “Justifiable Homicide by Weapon, Law Enforcement, 2008–2012,” and Expanded Homicide Data Table 15, “Justifiable Homicide by Weapon, Private Citizen, 2008–2012.”

In 2012, an estimated 14,827 persons were murdered in the United States. This was a 1.1 percent increase from the 2011 estimate, but a 9.9 percent decrease from the 2008 figure and a 10.3 percent drop from the number in 2003.
There were 4.7 murders per 100,000 people. The murder rate rose 0.4 percent in 2012 compared with the 2011 rate. The murder rate was down from the rates in 2008 (12.8 percent decline) and 2003 (16.9 percent drop). (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
Of the estimated murders in the United States, 43.6 percent were reported in the South, 21.1 percent were reported in the Midwest, 21.0 percent were reported in the West and 14.2 percent were reported in the Northeast. (See Table 3.)

UCR expanded offense data are details of the various offenses that the UCR Program collects beyond the count of how many crimes law enforcement agencies report. These details may include the type of weapon used in a crime, type or value of items stolen and so forth. In addition, expanded data include trends (for example, 2-year comparisons) and rates per 100,000 inhabitants.

Expanded information regarding murder is available in the following tables:

Trends (2-year): Table 12, Table 13 and Table 14

Rates (per 100,000 inhabitants): Table 16, Table 17 and Table 18

Expanded Homicide Data (supplementary homicide information):

Victim data: Expanded Homicide Data Tables: Table 1, Table 2, Table 4, Table 5, Table 6, Table 8, Table 9, Table 10, Table 12 and Table 13

Offender data: Expanded Homicide Data Tables: Table 3, Table 5 and Table 6

Victim/offender relationship data: Expanded Homicide Data Table 10

Circumstance data: Expanded Homicide Data Tables: Table 10, Table 11, Table 12 and Table 13

Weapons data: Expanded Homicide Data Tables: Table 7, Table 8, Table 9, Table 11, Table 14, Table 15 and Table 20

The UCR Program counts one offense for each female victim of a forcible rape, attempted forcible rape, or assault with intent to rape, regardless of the victim’s age. A rape by force involving a female victim and a familial offender is counted as a forcible rape and not an act of incest. All other crimes of a sexual nature are considered to be Part II offenses; as such, the UCR Program collects only arrest data for those crimes. The offense of statutory rape, in which no force is used but the female victim is under the age of consent, is included in the arrest total for the sex offenses category. Sexual attacks on males are counted as aggravated assaults or sex offenses, depending on the circumstances and the extent of any injuries.
For this overview only, the FBI deviated from standard procedure and manually calculated the 2011 and 2012 rates of females raped based on the national female population provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

There were an estimated 84,376 forcible rapes reported to law enforcement in 2012. This estimate was 0.2 percent higher than the 2011 estimate, but 7.0 percent and 10.1 percent lower than the 2008 and 2003 estimates, respectively. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
The rate of forcible rapes in 2012 was estimated at 52.9 per 100,000 female inhabitants.

Expanded offense data are the details of the various offenses that the UCR Program collects beyond the count of how many crimes law enforcement agencies report. These details may include the type of weapon used in a crime, type or value of items stolen and so forth. In addition, expanded data include trends (for example, 2-year comparisons) and rates per 100,000 inhabitants.

Expanded information regarding forcible rape is available in the following tables:

Trends (2-year): Table 12, Table 13, Table 14 and Table 15

Rates (per 100,000 inhabitants): Table 16, Table 17, Table 18 and Table 19

There were an estimated 354,520 robberies nationwide in 2012. The 2012 estimated number of robberies decreased 0.1 percent from the 2011 estimate and 20.1 percent from the 2008 estimate.
The estimated robbery rate of 112.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012 showed a decrease of 0.8 percent when compared to the 2011 rate. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
In 2012, robberies accounted for an estimated $414 million in losses. (Based on Table 1 and Table 23 )
The average dollar value of property stolen per reported robbery was $1,167. Banks experienced the highest average dollar loss at $3,810 per offense. (See Table 23)
Among the robberies for which the UCR Program received weapon information in 2012, strong-arm tactics were used in 42.5 percent, firearms in 41.0 percent and knives or cutting instruments in 7.8 percent. Other dangerous weapons were used in 8.8 percent of robberies in 2012. (Based on Table 19)

Expanded offense data are the details of the various offenses that the UCR Program collects beyond the count of how many crimes law enforcement agencies report. These details may include the type of weapon used in a crime, type or value of items stolen and so forth. In addition, expanded data include trends (for example, 2-year comparisons) and rates per 100,000 inhabitants.

Expanded information regarding robbery is available in the following tables:

Trends (2-year): Table 12, Table 13, Table 14 and Table 15

Rates (per 100,000 inhabitants): Table 16, Table 17, Table 18 and Table 19

Weapons: Table 15, Table 19 and Table 21

Location Type, average value of items stolen by location per robbery: Table 23

Robbery Table 1, Robbery, Location, Percent Distribution by Region, 2012

Robbery Table 2, Robbery, Location, Percent Distribution by Population Group, 2012

Robbery Table 3, Robbery, Types of Weapons Used, Percent Distribution by Region, 2012

There were an estimated 760,739 aggravated assaults in the nation in 2012. The estimated number of aggravated assaults in 2012 increased 1.1 percent when compared with the 2011 estimate.
In 2012, the estimated rate of aggravated assaults was 242.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. A 10-year comparison of data from 2003 and 2012 showed that the rate of aggravated assaults in 2012 dropped 18.0 percent. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
Of the aggravated assault offenses in 2012 for which law enforcement provided expanded data, 26.8 percent were committed with personal weapons, such as hands, fists, or feet. Firearms were used in 21.8 percent of aggravated assaults and knives or cutting instruments were used in 18.8 percent. Other weapons were used in 32.6 percent of aggravated assaults. (Based on Table 19.)

Expanded offense data are the details of the various offenses that the UCR Program collects beyond the count of how many crimes law enforcement agencies report. These details may include the type of weapon used in a crime, type or value of items stolen and so forth. In addition, expanded data include trends (for example, 2-year comparisons) and rates per 100,000 inhabitants.

Expanded information regarding aggravated assault is available in the following tables:

Trends (2-year): Table 12, Table 13, Table 14 and Table 15

Rates (per 100,000 inhabitants): Table 16, Table 17, Table 18 and Table 19

Weapons: Table 15, Table 19 and Table 22

Aggravated Assault Table, “Aggravated Assault, Types of Weapons Used, Percent Distribution by Region, 2012”