Violent crime rate of the US increased, says FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its annual report, which revealed the crime rate of the US in 2015 increased compared to that of 2014. Violent crime rate, including murders, rapes, and assaults increased after declining for several decades; 1,197,704 crimes were registered, 3.9% more than the number reported in 2014. Despite the rise, crime levels are far below their peak in the 1990s.
Global crime rates; India's crime rate very 'low'
In Jan'16, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report on seven serious crimes, including murder, rape, sexual violence, assault, kidnapping, burglary, and theft. Sweden (6,456 crimes per 100,000 people), Denmark (6,041), and Netherlands (5,523) emerged as the countries with highest crime rates. Surprisingly, India's crime rate was only 87, that of Somalia was 1.5, Iraq 2 and Libya 2.9.
Is India's crime rate really low?
India's crime rate is low as most of the crimes go unreported; non-registration of FIR leads to less number of crimes getting registered. Also, the crime rate is measured solely based on registered offenses.
NCRB releases India's 2015 crime rate report
The National Crime Records Bureau released 'Crime in India 2015'; overall crime rose to 7.3 million. Crime against women saw a 3.1% decrease as 3,27,394 cases were registered. Sexual offenses, abduction, and kidnapping constituted 81% of crimes against children; 94,172 cases were recorded. The number of homicides increased to 32,127 from 33,981 in 2014; cyber crimes jumped to 11,331 cases from 9,322 in 2014.
372.6 crime incidents per 100,000 people
The 2015 US crime rates stand at 372.6 incidents for every 100,000 people, higher than 361.6 incidents in 2014. The 2015 level is, however, lesser than the 1996 level of 636.6. The increase in crime rate in 2015 was reportedly most pronounced in bigger cities.
Non-negligent manslaughter and murders
The estimated number of murders in 2015 was 15,696 in the US; in 2014, there were 14,164 murders. Non-negligent manslaughter and murder reportedly increased 10.8%; guns were used in two-thirds of the cases. According to the FBI, the crime rate of 2014 was much lower than the levels reported in 2012 and earlier years. The number of rapes and assaults also increased in 2015.
Crime rate increases in big cities
The increase in crime in segregated and impoverished areas of the major cities was most pronounced. The highest level of offenses was recorded in the southern US regions. The manslaughter and murder level in the southern US is 45.9 per 100,000 people, twice more than that of the Northeast, Midwest, and West. Property crime, assaults, and rapes were dramatically higher in the region.
Chicago murder rate
New York University's Brennan Center for Justice released a report in Apr'16. According to the report, the crime rate in Chicago has seen a 13% rise compared to the 2014 rate; 54 more people were murdered in 2015 than in 2014.
Report released on the day of the first presidential debate
The FBI's report was released on the day of the first presidential debate focused on public safety between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. The rise in violent crime could be an advantage to Trump who portrayed himself as the 'law-and-order' candidate. Clinton called for a stricter gun control to tackle violence and national guidelines on the use of force by police.
