The Total UCR Part I Crimes Rate measures the number of serious crimes reported to law enforcement—including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson—per 100,000 residents. Using data from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, this indicator provides a standardized way to compare public-safety conditions across communities and over time. Because UCR Part I crimes represent the most serious and consistently tracked offenses, trends in this rate offer a clear signal of overall safety, community well-being, and the effectiveness of local prevention and enforcement strategies.

Why Does this Matter?

1. Signals overall public safety and trends over time

• UCR Part I crimes are the most serious and consistently tracked offenses, and the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program was designed to produce reliable, comparable statistics that have become one of the country’s leading social indicators for policymakers and planners.¹

2. Crime is a health and equity issue, not just a policing issue

• Higher neighborhood crime is linked to poorer physical and mental health, reduced park use and physical activity, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and higher cardiovascular mortality, especially in communities of color.²

3. Crime patterns shape neighborhood stability and economic opportunity

• Research shows that violent crime is highly concentrated in disadvantaged neighborhoods, reduces property values, influences where families and businesses choose to locate, and affects how local economies perform. Understanding trends in serious crime is therefore central to strategies for community development, investment, and economic mobility.³

1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2016). Neighborhoods and violent crime. Evidence Matters (Summer 2016). Accessed December 2025.  https://archives.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/em/summer16/highlight2.html
2.  Eberly, L. A., Julien, H. M., South, E. C., Venkataramani, A. S., Nathan, A. S., Anyawu, E. C., Dayoub, E. J., Groeneveld, P. W., & Khatana, S. A. M. (2022). Association between community level violent crime and cardiovascular mortality in Chicago: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of the American Heart Association.
3.  Owens, R. E. III, & Pinto, S. (2021). What do recent studies say about crime and policing? Part 1 (Economic Brief No. 21-29a). Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Accessed December 2025. https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2021/eb_21-29a