Violent crimes reported to law enforcement agencies increased 1.9 percent in the first six months of 2012 over figures from the same period in 2011, the FBI said today. Property crimes also rose 1.5 percent overall. Within the violent crime category, murders fell 1.7 percent and forcible rapes 1.4 percent, while robberies increased 2 percent and aggravated assaults. 2.3 percent.
The only violent crime offense category showing increases in all four regions of the U.S.: 4.4 percent in the Midwest, 2.4 percent in the West, 1.7 percent in the South, and 0.8 percent in the Northeast. All three offense categories of property crime showed increases: 1.4 percent for larceny-theft, 1.7 percent for motor vehicle theft, and .1 percent for burglary. Last fall, the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey reported an estimated 17 percent increase in violent crime in 2011, all of it due to assault cases. The survey includes estimates of the many crimes not reported to law enforcement.