Crime—an Overview - The "take" From Each Crime
percent value property stolen
In 2002 the value of the goods taken in the average crime varied. Generally, the value of goods taken is very low compared to the risk and consequences of the crime. The majority of those arrested in 2002 netted less than $200. In 37.8 percent of cases the value of the goods taken was under $50 and in 22.6 percent of cases it was between $50 and $200. It was over $200 in 39.6 percent of property crimes. Motor vehicle thefts, which are calculated separately, had the highest average loss of all property crimes in 2002—$6,701—up by 2.2 percent from 2001. The average bank robbery in 2002 netted $4,763, down by 6.5
TABLE 1.6
Ten year arrest trends, by sex, 1993–2002
| Male | Female | |||||||||||
| Total | Under 18 | Total | Under 18 | |||||||||
| Offense charged | 1993 | 2002 | Percent change | 1993 | 2002 | Percent change | 1993 | 2002 | Percent change | 1993 | 2002 | Percent change |
| Total1 | 6,891,398 | 6,486,470 | +5.9 | 1,186,822 | 992,153 | −16.4 | 1,689,892 | 1,927,513 | +14.1 | 377,504 | 401,599 | +6.4 |
| Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter | 13,656 | 7,986 | −41.5 | 2,326 | 795 | −65.8 | 1,469 | 947 | −35.5 | 159 | 91 | −42.8 |
| Forcible rape | 23,201 | 17,141 | −26.1 | 3,856 | 2,782 | −27.9 | 308 | 253 | −17.9 | 72 | 105 | +45.8 |
| Robbery | 88,326 | 62,330 | −29.4 | 24,263 | 14,908 | −38.6 | 8,551 | 7,075 | −17.3 | 2,242 | 1,430 | −36.2 |
| Aggravated assault | 272,381 | 238,780 | −12.3 | 41,055 | 29,127 | −29.1 | 48,433 | 60,506 | +24.9 | 8,372 | 8,955 | +7.0 |
| Burglary | 227,422 | 154,642 | −32.0 | 80,681 | 48,136 | −40.3 | 26,329 | 23,835 | −9.5 | 8,830 | 6,257 | −29.1 |
| Larceny-theft | 645,065 | 459,358 | −28.8 | 212,145 | 130,798 | −38.3 | 314,387 | 270,467 | −14.0 | 95,781 | 85,636 | −10.6 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 112,582 | 78,955 | −29.9 | 49,534 | 23,777 | −52.0 | 15,970 | 15,653 | −2.0 | 8,206 | 4,887 | −40.4 |
| Arson | 10,847 | 8,507 | −21.6 | 5,685 | 4,393 | −22.7 | 1,799 | 1,548 | −14.0 | 766 | 564 | −26.4 |
| Violent crime2 | 397,564 | 326,237 | −17.9 | 71,500 | 47,612 | −33.4 | 58,761 | 68,781 | +17.1 | 10,845 | 10,581 | −2.4 |
| Property crime3 | 995,916 | 701,462 | −29.6 | 348,045 | 207,104 | −40.5 | 358,485 | 311,503 | −13.1 | 113,583 | 97,344 | −14.3 |
| Crime Index4 | 1,393,480 | 1,027,699 | −26.2 | 419,545 | 254,716 | −39.3 | 417,246 | 380,284 | −8.9 | 124,428 | 107,925 | −13.3 |
| Other assaults | 600,914 | 596,196 | −0.8 | 93,725 | 97,759 | +4.3 | 132,123 | 186,098 | +40.9 | 32,764 | 46,174 | +40.9 |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 42,342 | 43,190 | +2.0 | 3,482 | 1,949 | −44.0 | 24,022 | 28,652 | +19.3 | 1,859 | 1,121 | −39.7 |
| Fraud | 120,506 | 105,140 | −12.8 | 4,270 | 3,472 | −18.7 | 98,189 | 90,785 | −7.5 | 2,179 | 1,786 | −18.0 |
| Embezzlement | 4,631 | 5,898 | +27.4 | 296 | 506 | +70.9 | 3,279 | 5,917 | +80.5 | 214 | 377 | +76.2 |
| Stolen property; buying, receiving, possessing | 88,634 | 63,261 | 28.6 | 25,671 | 13,551 | −47.2 | 12,979 | 12,876 | −0.8 | 3,137 | 2,215 | −29.4 |
| Vandalism | 183,817 | 141,782 | −22.9 | 88,566 | 56,527 | −36.2 | 25,278 | 28,060 | +11.0 | 9,402 | 8,833 | −6.1 |
| Weapons; carrying, possessing, etc. | 162,611 | 96,141 | −40.9 | 39,160 | 20,123 | −48.6 | 13,387 | 8,277 | −38.2 | 3,370 | 2,492 | −26.1 |
| Prostitution and commercialized vice | 22,728 | 18,078 | −20.5 | 320 | 331 | +3.4 | 39,083 | 33,197 | −15.1 | 435 | 627 | +44.1 |
| Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution) | 63,068 | 54,249 | −14.0 | 12,148 | 11,084 | −8.8 | 6,004 | 4,944 | −17.7 | 1,239 | 1,114 | −10.1 |
| Drug abuse violations | 594,006 | 798,695 | +34.5 | 65,051 | 98,383 | +51.2 | 116,916 | 175,387 | +50.0 | 8,362 | 18,398 | +120.0 |
| Gambling | 9,314 | 5,954 | −36.1 | 1,670 | 1,022 | −38.8 | 1,034 | 546 | −47.2 | 45 | 31 | −31.1 |
| Offenses against the family and children | 55,344 | 59,802 | +8.1 | 2,242 | 3,229 | +44.0 | 12,586 | 19,257 | +53.0 | 1,278 | 1,979 | +54.9 |
| Driving under the influence | 846,497 | 727,089 | −14.1 | 7,584 | 10,416 | +37.3 | 137,644 | 152,121 | +10.5 | 1,294 | 2,505 | +93.6 |
| Liquor laws | 252,565 | 289,770 | +14.7 | 54,032 | 58,648 | +8.5 | 64,354 | 95,841 | +48.9 | 21,804 | 29,926 | +37.3 |
| Drunkenness | 452,805 | 313,451 | −30.8 | 9,842 | 9,047 | −8.1 | 56,738 | 49,528 | −12.7 | 1,863 | 2,405 | +29.1 |
| Disorderly conduct | 384,867 | 301,613 | −21.6 | 80,673 | 79,064 | −2.0 | 98,809 | 97,115 | −1.7 | 23,074 | 33,780 | +46.4 |
| Vagrancy | 11,470 | 12,696 | +10.7 | 1,893 | 1,023 | −46.0 | 2,111 | 3,006 | +42.4 | 361 | 323 | −10.5 |
| All other offenses (except traffic) | 1,498,770 | 1,730,296 | +15.4 | 173,623 | 175,833 | +1.3 | 335,741 | 479,372 | +42.8 | 48,027 | 63,338 | +31.9 |
| Suspicion | 5,200 | 1,748 | −66.4 | 1,024 | 512 | −50.0 | 1,031 | 504 | −51.1 | 215 | 196 | −8.8 |
| Curfew and loitering law violations | 49,007 | 63,454 | +29.5 | 49,007 | 63,454 | +29.5 | 19,035 | 28,530 | +49.9 | 19,035 | 28,530 | +49.9 |
| Runaways | 54,022 | 32,016 | −40.7 | 54,022 | 32,016 | −40.7 | 73,334 | 47,720 | −34.9 | 73,334 | 47,720 | −34.9 |
| 1Does not include suspicion. | ||||||||||||
| 2Violent crimes are offenses of murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. | ||||||||||||
| 3Property crimes are offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. | ||||||||||||
| 4Includes arson. | ||||||||||||
| SOURCE: "Table 33: Ten-Year Arrest Trends by Sex, 1993–2002," in Crime in the United States 2002, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC, 2003 | ||||||||||||
percent from 2001. Robberies of convenience stores resulted in an average of $665 taken in 2002. The average burglary in 2002 resulted in a loss of $1,549, while pocket-picking and purse-snatching accounted for losses averaging $328 and $332, respectively. (See Table 1.8.)
When a criminal steals money, as in the case of a bank robber or purse-snatcher, he or she can usually spend the stolen cash. However, in the case of burglary or motor vehicle theft the criminal almost never collects the total value of the stolen property. While the value of the stolen goods in a typical burglary might be $1,549, the thief has no way to sell it for its real value. He or she usually takes it to a fence (a person who buys and sells stolen goods). The fence may pay as little as 10 percent of the value of the item or items, depending on how easily he or she feels it will be to find a buyer for the stolen property. Thus, a $400 VCR could be worth as little as $40 to the thief.
Recovery Rate for Stolen Property
In 2002 only 36.1 percent of the value of stolen property was recovered. The recovered value of motor vehicles in 2002 was highest, at 63.1 percent, followed by livestock (19.0 percent), clothing and furs (12.5 percent), consumable goods (10.6 percent), and firearms (8.9 percent). Recovery rates for jewelry, precious metals, and office equipment averaged around 5.5 percent in 2002, while theft victims recovered televisions, stereos, and other electronics only 4.2 percent of the time. (See Table 1.9.)
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