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Crime in California and the United States, 1988-1998

NCJ Number
186564
Date Published
June 2000
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This report presents crime data for California from 1988 to 1998 and compares these data with crime data for the United States less California, as well as with crime data for the six other States with populations over 10 million.
Abstract
As measured by the California Crime Index (CCI), California's crime rate decreased 35.3 percent from 1988 to 1998. The rest of the Nation experienced a 24.1-percent decrease in the CI rate; the six most populous States experienced a 33.3 percent decrease in the CI rate. Although California experienced the largest decrease in the CI rate from 1988 to 1998, the State experienced the largest increase in population when compared to the rest of the Nation and the six most populous States. California's violent crime rate decreased 23.5 percent from 1988 to 1998. The rest of the Nation experienced a 9.3-percent decrease in the violent-crime rate; the six most populous States had a 19.0-percent decrease in the violent-crime rate. As measured by the CCI, California's property crime rate decreased 39.9 percent from 1988 to 1998. The rest of the Nation had a 29.0-percent decrease in the property-crime rate; the six most populous States experienced a 38.4-percent decrease in the property-crime rate. California's 1988 CI rate was above the CI rates for the Nation and the six most populous cities; however, by 1998, the differences had narrowed considerably. Additional figures and tables show individual offense rates for California often decreasing faster than rates for the rest of the Nation. 42 tables