The State of Property Crime in U.S.

Property crimes resulted in losses of $14.3 billion in the U.S. in 2015, with $4.9 billion of those losses due to motor vehicle thefts, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.

The FBI report, Crime in the United States, 2015, reveals a 2.6 percent decrease in the estimated number of property crimes last year when compared to 2014. That is in keeping with the 10-year trend showing that property crime offenses decreased 20.2 percent in 2015 compared with data from 2006.

In 2015, the rate of property crime was estimated at 2,487.0 per 100,000 inhabitants, a 3.4 percent decrease when compared with 2014. The 2015 property crime rate was 14.4 percent less than the 2011 estimate and 25.7 percent less than the 2006 estimate.

Property crimes include larceny-theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson. Larceny-theft accounted for 71.4 percent of all property crimes in 2015. Burglary accounted for 19.8 percent, and motor vehicle theft for 8.9 percent.

Larceny-Theft

Larceny-theft, the unlawful taking of property from the possession of another, includes thefts of bicycles, thefts of motor vehicle parts and accessories, shoplifting, pocket-picking, or the stealing of any property or article that is not taken by force and violence or by fraud.

• In 2015, there were an estimated 5,706,346 larceny-thefts nationwide. The number of larceny-thefts declined 1.8 percent when compared with the 2014 estimate. The number decreased 7.2 percent when compared with the 2011 estimate, and it declined 13.9 percent when compared with the 2006 estimate.

• The rate of estimated larceny-thefts in 2015 was 1,775.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. From 2014 to 2015, the rate of estimated larceny-thefts declined 2.5 percent, and from 2006 to 2015, the rate decreased 19.8 percent.

• The average value of property taken during larceny-thefts was $929 per offense. When the average value is applied to the estimated number of larceny-thefts, the loss to victims nationally was an estimated $5.3 billion.

• Thefts from motor vehicles accounted for 24.0 percent of all larceny-thefts in 2015.

Motor Vehicle Theft

• There were an estimated 707,758 thefts of motor vehicles nationwide in 2015. The estimated rate of motor vehicle thefts was 220.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.

• The estimated number of motor vehicle thefts increased 3.1 percent in 2015 when compared with the 2014 estimates, but declined 1.2 percent when compared with the 2011 estimates, and dropped 40.9 percent when compared with the 2006 estimates.

• More than $4.9 billion was lost nationwide to motor vehicle thefts in 2015. The average dollar loss per stolen vehicle was $7,001.

• In 2015, of all motor vehicles stolen, 74.7 percent were automobiles.

Arson

Arson is any willful or malicious burning or attempting to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another. Only fires determined to have been willfully set are included in this arson data collection. Fires labeled as suspicious or of unknown origin are excluded from these data.

• In 2015, law enforcement agencies (providing from 1 to 12 months of arson data) reported 41,376 arsons. Participating agencies provided expanded offense data regarding 38,269 arsons.

• More than 45 percent (45.7) of all arson offenses involved structures (e.g., residential, storage, public, etc.). Mobile property was involved in 24.4 percent of arsons, and other types of property (such as crops, timber, fences, etc.) accounted for 29.8 percent of reported arsons.

• The average dollar loss per arson was $14,182.

• Arsons of industrial/manufacturing structures resulted in the highest average dollar losses (an average of $270,462).

• Arson offenses decreased 3.6 percent in 2015 when compared with arson data reported in 2014.

• Nationwide, there were 13.6 arson offenses for every 100,000 inhabitants.

Burglary

Burglary is the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.

• In 2015, there were an estimated 1,579,527 burglaries, a decrease of 7.8 percent when compared with 2014 data. The number of burglaries decreased 27.7 percent when compared with 2011 data and was down 28.0 percent when compared with the 2006 estimate.

• The estimated number of burglaries accounted for 19.8 percent of the estimated number of property crimes.

• By subcategory, 57.9 percent of burglaries involved forcible entry, 35.5 percent were unlawful entries, and 6.6 percent were attempted forcible entry.

• Victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $3.6 billion in property losses in 2015. The average dollar loss per burglary offense was $2,316.

• Burglaries of residential properties accounted for 71.6 percent of all burglary offenses.

Source: FBI’s Crime in the United States, 2015

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