Incarceration in the United States is one of the primary means of punishment for crime in the United States. In 2021, over five million people were under supervision by the criminal justice system, with nearly two million people incarcerated in state or federal prisons and local jails. The United States has the largest known prison population in the world. It has 5% of the world’s population while having 20% of the world’s incarcerated persons. China, with more than four times more inhabitants, has fewer persons in prison. Prison populations grew dramatically beginning in the 1970s, but began a decline around 2009, dropping 25% by year-end 2021.
Crime in Washington, D.C., is directly related to the city's demographics, geography, and unique criminal justice system. The District's population reached a peak of 802,178 in 1950. Shortly after that, the city began losing residents, and by 1980 Washington had lost one-quarter of its population. The population loss to the suburbs also created a new demographic pattern, which divided affluent neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park from the less well-off neighborhoods to the east.
Crime has been recorded in the United States since its founding and has fluctuated significantly over time. Most available data underestimate crime before the 1930s, giving the false impression that crime was low in the early 1900s and had a sharp rise after. Instead, violent crime during the colonial period was likely three times higher than the highest modern rates in the data we have, and crime had been on the decline since colonial times. Within the better data for crime reporting and recording available starting in the 1930s, crime reached its broad, bulging modern peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. After 1992, crime rates have generally trended downwards each year, with the exceptions of a slight increase in property crimes in 2001 and increases in violent crimes in 2005–2006, 2014–2016 and 2020–2021. As of July 1, 2024 violent crime was down and homicides were on pace to drop to 2015 levels by the end of the year.
Crime in Alaska has attracted significant attention, both within the state and nationally, due to its unique challenges and higher crime rates compared to the rest of the United States. A sparsely populated state with vast wilderness areas, Alaska poses particular difficulties for law enforcement and social service agencies.
Crime in California refers to crime occurring within the U.S. state of California. The principal source of law for California criminal procedure is the California Penal Code.
Crime in Florida refers to crime occurring within the U.S. State of Florida.
In 2008, there were 446,135 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Illinois, including 790 murders.
In 2015 there were 166,510 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Maryland, including 493 murders.
In 2019, 43,686 crimes were reported in the U.S. state of Michigan. Crime statistics vary widely by location. For example, Dearborn has a murder rate of only 2.1 per 100,000 while sharing borders with Detroit and Inkster, some of the highest rates in the state.
The U.S. state of New Mexico had the highest rate of property crime among US states in 2016. New Mexico had the second highest rate for violent crime, following Alaska. Around 27 percent of the population lives in Albuquerque, but the city was home to 42.7 percent of violent crime and 47 percent of property crime in New Mexico.
In 2012, there were 451,142 crimes reported in the U.S. state of New York, including 686 murders. In 2014, 409,386 crimes were reported in the state, including 616 murders. This number further decreased in 2019, in which 335,736 crimes were reported, with 558 cases of murder. Throughout 2010-2019, violent crime dropped by 8.0%, and property crime dropped by -29.0%.
In 2008, there were 415,810 crimes reported in the U.S. state of North Carolina, including 605 murders. In 2014, there were 318,464 crimes reported, including 510 murders.
Since 1960, the U.S. state of Ohio has seen a wide variation in the frequency of violent crimes reported. In 2014, there were 33,030 violent crimes reported - the lowest rate the state has seen since 1973. In 2012 there were 405,262 crimes reported in Ohio, including 478 murders. In 2014 there were 357,558 crimes reported, including 464 murders.
In 2008 there were 351,353 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, including 707 murders. In 2014 there were 287,180 crimes reported, including 614 murders.
South Dakota, a state in the Midwestern United States, generally has a lower crime rate than the national average. However, crime rates vary within the state, with some rural areas having much lower rates than in the Sioux Falls or Rapid City areas. Overall crime rates in South Dakota have been relatively stable in recent years.
In 2010, 356 people were murdered in the U.S. state of Tennessee. In 2009 and 2010, Tennessee had the highest rate of violent gun crime of any US state, although less than that of Washington D.C. Tennessee ranked highest in the nation for the rate of aggravated assaults with a firearm, and ranked fifth-worst in robberies.
In 2014 there were 923,348 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Texas, including 1,184 murders and 8,236 rapes.
Crime rates in the state of Washington grew rapidly to large levels from 1960 to 1980, however slowed in growth from 1980 onward. Although the cause of this drop in crime growth from the 1980s cannot be directly determined, it was believed to have been a result from several law enforcement initiatives & policies implemented throughout the state of Washington and across the United States, such as abortion access.
