Trends in Violent Crime

The tragedy in Connecticut has prompted calls for deliberation on how we can prevent such incidents in the future.  That deliberation should include data on trends in violent crime.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics provides such information in its recent publication, "Criminal Victimization, 2011." Between 1993 and 2011, the rate of violent crime declined by 72 percent, from 79.8 to 22.5 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older.  Between 2002 and 2011,  the rate of serious violent crime involving weapons dropped from 6.9 per thousand in 2002 to 4.6  in 2011.