Crime Trends Working Group

This fact sheet provides a snapshot of motor vehicle theft in the U.S. It examines changes in theft rates since 1960 and explores other variables, such as arrests, theft location, and clearance rates.

While the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting data showed a drop in the nation’s violent crime rate in 2022, data from the National Crime Victimization Survey showed that violent crime victimization increased. What does this discrepancy mean and why might it exist?

At its fifth meeting, the Crime Trends Working Group heard reports from subgroups on the challenges of transitioning to the National Incident-Based Reporting System and how to improve the usability of the FBI’s crime data tool.

In the Crime Trends Working Group’s fourth meeting, members reviewed CCJ’s latest crime trends report and discussed changes in homicide and motor vehicle theft rates.

In the Crime Trends Working Group’s first in-person meeting, members discussed challenges with implementation and the usability of the federal government’s current crime data reporting structure and prepared to establish recommendations for improvement.

In the Crime Trends Working Group’s second meeting, members discussed what research is needed to inform discussions on nationwide crime trends and identified initial topics for investigation.

In their first meeting, members shared their motivations for participating in the project; several expressed a desire for better national crime data to guide local policy and practice and an eagerness to make data more accessible and clearer to the public.