Crime Analysis
In-depth, data-driven articles on US crime trends and patterns. All backed by FBI statistics. (37 articles)
Crime Trends
3The Great Crime Decline: Why America Is Safer Than You Think
Violent crime has fallen 52% since 1991. We analyze 45 years of data to understand the biggest public safety story nobody talks about.
Seasonal Crime Patterns: When Does Crime Happen?
Violent crime peaks in summer, property crime in fall. Holiday DV spikes, weekend violence patterns, and what temperature does to aggression.
The Cost of Crime: What Does Crime Actually Cost America?
$2.6 trillion annually. Murder alone costs $152 billion. Per-crime cost estimates, state-level costs, and the economic case for prevention.
Violent Crime
5Gun Violence by the Numbers: What FBI Data Actually Shows
Firearms account for 77% of US murders. A data-driven look at gun violence patterns, weapon types, and geographic concentration.
Homicide in America — Who Kills Whom and Why
77% male victims, intraracial violence patterns, age profiles, and the gender gap. Deep analysis using FBI SHR data.
Mass Shootings vs Total Gun Violence: What the Data Shows
Mass shootings dominate headlines but account for less than 2% of gun deaths. The real picture is very different.
School Shootings in America: The Data Behind the Crisis
171 incidents in 2023, up 434% since 2013. K-12 school violence data, international comparisons, and what prevention strategies actually work.
Unsolved Murders: The Epidemic of Cases That Never Close
Murder clearance dropped from 90%+ to ~50%. An estimated 250,000+ murders unsolved since 2000. Racial disparities, cold cases, and what went wrong.
Demographics
4Crime by Race — The Complete FBI Data Breakdown
Black Americans are 13.7% of population but 30.5% of arrests and 51.6% of murder victims. Full data breakdown with context.
Who Commits Crime in America — Demographics Deep Dive
Males are 72.5% of arrests, young adults 18-24 peak crime years. The complete demographic profile of US crime patterns.
Women and Crime — The Gender Gap in Victims, Offenders & Incarceration
3,538 female murder victims, 1,902 female offenders. How crime affects women differently as both victims and perpetrators.
Crime Victimization: Who Bears the Burden?
Homicide is the leading cause of death for Black males aged 15-34. A look at the unequal geography of violence.
Policing & Justice
7Crime Clearance Rates — How Many Crimes Actually Get Solved?
Only ~50% of violent crimes and ~15% of property crimes are cleared. Murder clearance dropped from 90% to 50%.
Police Funding and Crime Rates: What the Data Shows
Do cities that spend more on policing have less crime? We analyze the relationship between police budgets and crime rates.
Police Use of Force: What the Data Actually Shows
~1,100 fatal police shootings annually. Black Americans 2.5x more likely per capita. Body cameras, de-escalation training, and international comparisons.
The Police Staffing Crisis: Why Departments Can't Hire
Applicants down ~20% since 2020. 47% of agencies saw 25%+ drops. Signing bonuses, lowered requirements, and the impact on public safety.
Did "Defund the Police" Cause a Crime Surge?
What actually happened to police budgets, staffing, and crime rates after 2020. The data is more nuanced than either side admits.
Incarceration Nation: America's Prison Problem by the Numbers
1.9M incarcerated, $81B annual cost, 5x racial disparity. Why America has 5% of the world's people but 20% of its prisoners.
The Recidivism Crisis — 83% Rearrested Within 9 Years
BJS data shows 44% rearrested within 1 year. The revolving door of criminal justice and what works to break the cycle.
Property Crime
3The Property Crime Paradox: Why Theft Is Rising While Violence Falls
Motor vehicle theft up 25% since 2019 while murder drops. Inside the diverging trends reshaping American crime.
The Car Theft Crisis: Why Vehicle Theft Is Surging
Motor vehicle theft surged 25% since 2019. A design flaw, TikTok, and organized crime explain why.
Organized Retail Theft: Is Shoplifting Really Out of Control?
Viral videos say yes. The NRF retracted its $100B figure. What the FBI data and retail industry data actually show.
Drugs & Substance
3The Drug-Crime Connection: From Crack to Fentanyl
How drug epidemics have shaped American crime waves from the 1980s crack crisis to today's fentanyl surge.
The Fentanyl Crisis: How Synthetic Opioids Are Reshaping Crime
70,000+ deaths per year. How fentanyl changed drug markets, fueled property crime, and overwhelmed law enforcement.
The Opioid-Crime Connection — How Drug Policy Shapes Crime Data
822K drug arrests annually despite similar usage rates. How the opioid epidemic drives property crime and mass incarceration.
Special Topics
12Domestic Violence in America: The Hidden Epidemic
Over 40% of female murder victims are killed by intimate partners. The data behind America's most underreported crime.
White Collar Crime: The Trillion-Dollar Problem Nobody Talks About
FBI estimates $300-600B in annual fraud losses. Average white collar theft: $100K+. Average bank robbery: $4,820. Why prosecution rates are declining.
Hate Crimes in America: A Deep Dive Into FBI Data (2024)
11,679 hate crime incidents in 2024. Breakdown by bias motivation — anti-Black, anti-Jewish, anti-LGBTQ+ — state variation, and reporting challenges.
Juvenile Crime: The Data Behind the Headlines
Youth arrests are down 70%+ since 2006. Why the perception gap between data and media narratives is so wide.
Cybercrime Trends — The $12.5 Billion Crime Wave Missing from FBI Stats
FBI IC3 reported $12.5B in losses in 2023. How cybercrime is underrepresented in traditional crime statistics.
Crime and Poverty — What the Data Actually Shows
State murder rates vary 25x. How economic conditions, inequality, and concentrated poverty drive crime patterns.
Do Red States or Blue States Have More Crime?
Data-driven analysis: both sides cherry-pick stats. The real variable is urbanization, not politics. Top 10 most violent states include both colors.
10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Crime
Crime myths debunked: crime is NOT at an all-time high, immigrants DON'T cause more crime, and 8 more facts that challenge assumptions.
The Safest Places to Live in America: A Data-Driven Guide
Top 50 safest cities, 25 safest small towns, and safest states. Find the safest places based on FBI violent crime data.
Rural vs Urban Crime: Shattering the Myths
Crime isn't just a big-city problem. Small cities under 50K have higher per-capita violence than many major metros.
Crime and Guns: What Does the Data Actually Say?
Firearms in 77% of homicides. Gun ownership vs crime rates, strict vs permissive states, international comparison — data-driven, not political.
America's Murder Map — Where Homicides Actually Happen
Top 10 cities account for 21% of all murders. Geographic concentration, weapon patterns, and victim-offender relationships.
Unique Data Explorations
Interactive tools and unique datasets that go beyond standard crime statistics.
The Population-Crime Paradox
Mid-size cities are MORE dangerous than mega-cities. The data will surprise you.
The Crime Clock
See crime happen in real time. A violent crime every 26 seconds, a murder every 31 minutes.
City Crime Trajectories
Every city classified: improving, worsening, volatile, stable, or dangerous. Which way is yours heading?
Crime Composition DNA
Every city has a unique crime fingerprint. See visual breakdowns of murder, assault, robbery, and rape proportions.
Violence Concentration
Just 10 cities produce 21% of all murders. See where violence really concentrates in America.
Crime Stories
Data-driven narratives: turnarounds, crises, surprises, and the wildest swings in American crime.
Arrest Efficiency
How effective is policing? For every 3 murders, 1 goes without an arrest.
The Weapon Shift
How Americans are killed is changing. 5 years of murder weapon data visualized.
Who Are the Victims?
The human face behind crime statistics. Demographics, relationships, and circumstances of murder victims.
Homicide Demographics
Complete FBI data on victim and offender demographics by race, gender, ethnicity, age, and victim-offender cross-tabulation.