The latest preliminary Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics for 2012 show that compared with 2011, the number of violent crimes reported by law enforcement agencies in the US increased 1.2% during 2012, while the number of property crimes decreased 0.8%.

Highlights of the 2012 preliminary crime report include:

• Compared to 2011, the West had the largest increase in reported violent crime (up 3.3%), while the Northeast saw the only decrease (down 0.6%).
• The Northeast was the only area where all four violent crime categories saw decreases—murder (down 4.4%), forcible rapes (down 0.2%), robberies (down 1.4%), and aggravated assaults (down 0.1%).
• Cities with populations of 500,000 to one million saw the largest rise in reported violent crime (up 3.7%).
• Nationally, burglary decreased 3.6% in 2012 compared with 2011 data. Motor vehicle theft increased 1.3%, and larceny-theft offenses remained virtually unchanged.
• Property crime increased by 5.2% in the West, while the number of property crimes dropped 1.6% in the Northeast, 2.1% in the Midwest, and 3.5% in the South.
• Burglary decreased in all city sizes, including a 7.0% decrease in cities with 250,000 to 500,000 people. Burglaries decreased 4.3% in non-metropolitan counties and 3.1% in metropolitan counties.
• Motor vehicle thefts grew by 10.6% in the West, while declining in the Northeast (down 7.9%), the Midwest (down 3.1%), and the South (down 2.9%).
• The number of arson incidents fell 1.2%.

View the full preliminary 2012 crime statistics report on the FBI website.