Table 4, Data Declaration

Crime in the United States, by Region, Geographic Division, and State, 2004-2005

The FBI collects these data through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.

General comments

This table provides the estimated number and rate (per 100,000 inhabitants) of crime in each region, geographic division, and state in 2005.
The UCR Program does not have sufficient data to estimate arson offenses.
For Illinois, valid counts for murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault were available only for agencies in the cities 100,000 and over in population. For other agencies, the only available counts generated by the Illinois State Program were totals based upon an incident-level system without indication of multiple offenses recorded within single incidents. Therefore, the UCR Hierarchy Rule could not be applied in order to convert the state's data to Summary format. (The Hierarchy Rule requires that only the most serious offense in a multiple-offense criminal incident is counted.) To arrive at a comparable state estimate to be included in national compilations, the Illinois State Program's totals (which were inflated because the Illinois state program does not apply the Hierarchy Rule to its crime reports) were reduced by the proportion of multiple offenses reported within single incidents in the National Incident-Based Reporting System database. Valid totals for the large cities were excluded from the reduction process.
Prior to 2005, aggravated assaults in Los Angeles, California, were not reported according to UCR guidelines. Therefore, an adjusted 2004 aggravated assault count for Los Angeles was used when calculating the 2004 estimates and rates presented for California, the Western region, and the Nation. The adjusted figure was derived by recalculating the 2004 aggravated assualt rate for Group I cities (Los Angeles' population group) without Los Angeles' population or aggravated assault count, and then applying the revised rate to Los Angeles' population.
During 2005, a change in Tucson, Arizona's, reporting practices regarding larceny-theft caused a significant drop in reported 2005 larceny-thefts from the 2004 data. Therefore, an adjusted 2004 larceny count for Tucson was used when calculating the 2004 estimates and rates presented for Arizona, the Western region, and the Nation. The adjusted figure was derived by recalculating the 2004 larceny theft rate for Group I cities (Tucson's population group) without Tucson's population or larceny theft count, and then applying the revised rate to Tucson's population.
Any comparisons of crime among different locales should take into consideration relevant factors in addition to the areas' crime statistics. Variables Affecting Crime provides more details concerning the proper use of UCR statistics.

Methodology

The data used in creating this table were from all law enforcement agencies in the UCR Program (including those submitting less than 12 months of data).
Crime statistics include estimated offense totals (except arson) for agencies submitting less than 12 months of offense reports for each year.
The FBI derives state totals by estimating for nonreporting and partially reporting agencies within each state. Using the state's individual agency estimates, the Program aggregates a state total.
State totals for the 2004 year have been reestimated to reflect data received after the publication of the 2004 edition of Crime in the United States.

Population estimation

The FBI calculated 2005 state growth rates using revised 2004 state/national population estimates and 2005 provisional state/national population estimates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The FBI then estimated population figures for city and county jurisdictions by applying the 2005 state growth rate to the updated 2004 U.S. Census Bureau data.

If you have questions about this table

Contact the Communications Unit of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division via e-mail at cjis_comm@leo.gov or by telephone at (304) 625-4995.