Glossary

Defined by the FBI’s UCR Part I system as murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

This category includes “the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded.”

This category includes “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

Note: Due to definitional changes in how the FBI categorizes Rape, this category becomes more inclusive starting in 2013. Our historical crime datasets use the FBI’s revised Rape figures starting in 2013 and calculate violent crime figures at the state and national levels accordingly.

This category includes “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.”

Robbery is considered a violent crime under UCR Part I categorization but a property crime under NIBRS. It is considered a violent crime in the Crime Index.

This category includes “an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.” Simple assaults — assaults without a weapon or where no injury is incurred — are excluded from this category.

Defined by the FBI’s UCR Part I system as burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft.

This category includes “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted forcible entry is included.” Vehicle burglaries are counted as thefts under UCR Part I and NIBRS categorizations.

This category includes “the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles, 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. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, check fraud, etc., are excluded.”

This category includes “the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled and runs on land surface and not on rails. Motorboats, construction equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment are specifically excluded from this category.”