VOA新闻杂志2024--Federal Bureau of Investigation: Rate of Violent Crimes in US Down in 2023

Violent crime decreased in the United States in 2023, a new report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation¹ says.

The FBI released its report Monday. The report shows violent crime dropped an estimated three percent in 2023 from the year before. Murders dropped almost 12 percent.

Here is what the Associated Press (AP) said about the FBI report:

The numbers

Crime increased sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, with homicides increasing by nearly 30 percent in 2020 from the year before. That was the largest one-year increase since the FBI began keeping records. Experts said possible reasons for the rise include the huge disruption of the pandemic, gun violence, worries about the economy and intense stress.

The FBI data show that, in 2022, violent crime across the U.S. decreased to levels near those before the pandemic. Crime continued to decrease last year from 377 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2022 to 364 per 100,000 people in 2023. Deputy Assistant Director Brian Griffith of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division said that rate is a little higher than the 2019 rate.

"Are we looking at crime rates at a return to pre-pandemic levels? I think a reasonable person would look at that and say, 'Yes, that's what has happened,'" Griffith told the AP.

The largest cities, those with populations of one million or more, recorded the biggest drop in violent crime at almost seven percent. Agencies in communities of 250,000 to almost 500,000 people reported an increase of .3 percent, between 2022 and 2023.

Rape² decreased more than nine percent while aggravated³ assault decreased nearly three percent. Overall, property crime decreased two percent, but automobile⁴ stealing increased 13 percent. There were about 319 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people in 2023. That was the largest increase since 2007.

The FBI's data is not complete

The FBI collects data through its Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Not all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. take part in the reporting. The 2023 report is based on data from more than 16,000 agencies, or more than 85 percent of those agencies in the FBI's program. The agencies included in the report protect almost 316 million people across America. And every agency with at least one million people in its jurisdiction⁵ provided a full year of data to the FBI, the report said.

"What you're not seeing in that number are a lot of very small agencies," Griffith said.

Another crime report

The FBI's findings are similar to the findings of the independent, nonprofit group, Council on Criminal Justice based in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, it examined crimes rates across 39 U.S. cities. The group said that most violent crimes are at or below 2019 levels. It said that there were 13 percent fewer homicides across 29 cities that provided data during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Another Justice Department report, the National Crime Victimization Survey, was released earlier this month. It said that the violent crime victimization rate rose from about 16 per 1,000 people in 2020 to 22.5 last year. The report said that the rate last year was not statistically⁶ different from the rate in 2019. It said the rate has dropped a lot since the 1990s.

The FBI report and the Crime Victimization Survey use different study methods and collect different kinds of information.

The victimization survey is carried out every year. It questions about 240,000 people. The FBI's data only includes crimes reported to police. The victimization study aims to record crimes that people did not report to police.

The victimization survey does not include data on murder or crimes against children under 12 years old.

Words in This Story

homicide -n. a killing⁷ of one human being by another

disruption -n. a break or interruption in the normal course or continuation of some activity, process, etc.

stress -n. a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension

aggravated assault -n. (legal) an attack that is more serious than a simple attack and which is punished more severely⁸

jurisdiction -n. the area in which a court or government agency may lawfully⁹ exercise its power

statistically -adv. related to numbers that represent information

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

5 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

6 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 lawfully   

adv.守法地，合法地；合理地

参考例句：

• Lawfully established contracts shall be protected by law. 依法成立的合同应受法律保护。 来自口语例句
• As my lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death parts us. 当成是我的合法丈夫，无论疾病灾难，直到死亡把我们分开。 来自电影对白