The results of several recent polls and surveys indicate that most people in California and around the country believe that crime is a serious problem and should be a top priority for lawmakers. However, an analysis of crime data gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that the violent and property crime rates in the United States have fallen sharply in recent decades. The Pew Research Center conducted the study and published its findings on April 24.
Crime and closure rates
After analyzing the data, researchers discovered that violent crime in the United States has fallen by 49% and property crime has fallen by 59% since 1993. The data also shows that far fewer crimes are being solved. In 1993, police departments closed 44.2% of their violent crime investigations. By 2022, the violent crime closure rate had fallen to just 36.7%. Police are also solving fewer property crimes. Between 1993 and 2023, the property crime closure rate fell from 17.4% to 12.1%.
California crime rates
However, data released by the Public Policy Institute of California reveals that violent crime has become a far more pressing issue in the Golden State in recent years. The violent crime rate in California increased by 13.5% between 2019 and 2022, and 67% of the violent crimes reported in 2022 were aggravated assaults. There were 468 violent crimes committed for every 100,000 California residents in 2022, but that figure is far below the peak of 1,115 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents reported in 1992.
Public perception
An analysis of official statistics released by the Pew Research Center indicates that crimes like murder, robbery and aggravated assault are far less common today than they were in the early 1990s, but the data also shows that far fewer crimes are being solved. When the Public Policy Institute of California studied the same data, its researchers discovered that the violent crime rate in California has increased by more than 10% since 2019.
