Definition

Larceny-theft is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another.  It includes crimes such as shoplifting, pocket-picking, purse-snatching, thefts from motor vehicles, thefts of motor vehicle parts and accessories, bicycle thefts, etc., in which no use of force, violence, or fraud occurs.  In the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, this crime category does not include embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, and worthless checks.  Motor vehicle theft is also excluded from this category inasmuch as it is a separate Crime Index offense.

Trend

National Volume, Trends, and Rates

In the Nation in 2002, the number of larceny-theft offenses was estimated at over 7 million and cost victims an estimated $4.9 billion in losses. (See Tables 1 and 23.)

The larceny-theft offenses in the Nation accounted for 59.4 percent of the 2002 Crime Index total and 67.5 percent of the property crime total. An examination of trends showed a 0.6 percent decrease in larceny-theft volume when 2002 data are compared to 2001 data, a 4.4 percent decrease from 1998 figures, and a decrease of 9.8 percent from the 1993 total. (See Table 1.)

In 2002, the larceny-theft rate for the Nation was an estimated 2,445.8 offenses per 100,000 in population, a 1.6 percent decrease from the 2001 rate. Five- and 10-year trends showed the rate fell 10.4 percent from the 1998 rate and 19.4 percent from the 1993 rate. (See Table 1.)

Community Types

By community type, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) had an estimated a rate of 2,596.4 larceny offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. Cities outside MSAs had a rate of 3,107.9, and rural counties experienced a rate of 1,005.0 per 100,000 population. (See Table 2.) The UCR Program's definition of these community types can be found in Appendix III.

Regional Offense Trends and Rates

The UCR Program divides the United States into four regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West. (See Appendix III.) Regionally in 2002, the South, the Nation's most populous region with 35.8 percent of the population, accounted for 40.9 percent of the larceny-thefts nationwide. The West accounted for 23.6 percent of the total larceny-thefts, followed by the Midwest with 22.3 percent, and the Northeast with 13.2 percent. (See Table 3.)

An examination of 2002 regional volumes for larceny-theft compared to 2001 data revealed that the West was the only region that had an increase (2.5 percent). Larceny-theft offenses decreased an estimated 3.4 percent in the Northeast, 2.6 percent in the Midwest, and 0.2 percent in the South. Among the geographic regions in 2002, the South had an estimated larceny-theft rate per 100,000 inhabitants of 2,794.1 and the West a rate of 2,534.0. The Midwest had a rate of 2,413.5 per 100,000 inhabitants and the Northeast, a rate of 1,714.0 per 100,000 population. Rate trends comparing 2001 and 2002 data showed that the larceny-theft rate per 100,000 inhabitants was up 0.8 percent in the West; the rate declined 3.9 percent in the Northeast, 3.1 percent in the Midwest, and 1.5 percent in the South. (See Table 4.)

Population Groups: Trends and Rates

Collectively in 2002, the Nation's cities reported a decrease of 0.7 percent in larceny-thefts from 2001. Cities with populations of 250,000 to 499,999 reported a decrease of 2.3 percent, and cities with populations of 100,000 to 249,999 reported an increase of 0.8 percent. Both rural and suburban counties reported decreases of 0.6 percent for larceny-theft offenses. (See Table 12.) Cities collectively had a larceny-theft rate of 3,017.1 per 100,000 in population. Cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999 showed a rate of 3,907.2 larceny-theft offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the Nation's largest cities (those 1 million and over in population) had a larceny-theft rate of 2,615.8. Suburban counties had a rate of 1,740.0 per 100,000 inhabitants, and rural counties registered a rate of 1,083.3. (See Table 16.)

Offense Analysis

Distribution

In 2002, thefts from motor vehicles accounted for 26.5 percent of reported larceny-thefts, followed by shoplifting with 14.0 percent. Thefts from buildings made up 12.5 percent of the larceny-theft total; thefts of motor vehicle accessories accounted for 10.7 percent; and thefts of bicycles, 3.9 percent. Pocket-pickings, purse-snatchings, thefts from coin-operated machines, and other miscellaneous types of larceny-thefts comprised the remainder. (See Table 23.)

Loss by Dollar Value

In 2002, an estimated $4.9 billion in property was lost due to larceny-theft. The average value of property stolen per offense was $699, down from the 2001 average value of $730. (See Table 23.)

Thefts from buildings in 2002 was the larceny-theft offense with the highest average loss, $1,013. For thefts from motor vehicles, the average value loss was $692, and for thefts of motor vehicle accessories, $432. Purse-snatchings had an average value loss of $332, and pocket-pickings an average loss of $328. Thefts of bicycles resulted in an average value loss of $257, and in thefts from coin-operated machines, the average loss was $250. Shoplifting was the category with the lowest average dollar loss, $187. (See Table 23.)

Losses of property valued over $200 accounted for 39.6 percent of reported larceny-thefts. Stolen property valued under $50 comprised 37.8 percent of the reported larceny-theft offenses, and 22.6 percent involved losses ranging from $50 to $200. (See Table 23.)

Clearances

Nationwide in 2002, 18.0 percent of larceny-theft offenses were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. Collectively the Nation's cities had a larceny-theft clearance rate of 18.1 percent. Those cities with 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants had the highest rate of clearances for larceny-theft offenses among the Nation's cities, 22.6 percent, and cities with 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants had the lowest clearance rate for larceny-theft offenses, 13.1 percent. Rural county agencies cleared 17.9 percent of larceny-thefts, and law enforcement in suburban counties cleared 17.4 percent. (See Table 25.)

Regionally, the highest rate of larceny-theft clearances in 2002 occurred in the Northeast with 22.9 percent of offenses cleared. Agencies in the South cleared 17.9 percent of the larceny-thefts reported. The Midwest and West had clearance rates of 17.3 and 16.6 percent, respectively. (See Table 26.)

Just over 21 percent (21.2) of all larceny-theft clearances were of juveniles (persons under 18 years of age). Juveniles comprised 21.9 percent of offense clearances in the Nation's cities. By population group, cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants had the largest percentage of juvenile  clearances—25.0. Rural counties reported juvenile clearances at 15.9 percent, and suburban counties reported juvenile clearances at 18.6 percent. (See Table 28.)

Arrests

In 2002, the estimated number of arrests for larceny-thefts in the Nation was 1,160,085, the highest arrest total among the eight Crime Index offenses. Larceny-theft arrests accounted for an estimated 51.9 percent of the Crime Index arrests, and an estimated 71.9 percent of the property crime arrests. (Based on Table 29.) Law enforcement agencies in the South experienced the highest rate of larceny-theft arrests, 444.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. Those in the Midwestern states had an arrest rate of 441.4, followed by the West, 394.4, and the Northeast, 345.8 arrests per 100,000 population. (See Table 30.) Among the population groups, larcny-theft arrest rates were 503.0 per 100,000 inhabitants in the Nation's cities collectively, 234.2 in suburban counties, and 151.6 in rural counties. (See Table 31.)

Larceny-theft arrests in 2002 were up slightly, 0.4 percent, when compared to 2001 arrests. Larceny-theft arrests of juveniles declined 3.0 percent from the previous year's number. Arrests of adults for larceny-thefts showed an increase, 1.8 percent. (See Table 36.) Arrests for males were down 0.2 percent, and arrests of females increased by 1.3 percent. (See Table 37.)

In 2002, arrests of juveniles accounted for 29.5 percent of reported larceny-theft arrests. (See Table 41.) Of the juveniles arrested for larceny-theft, 70.1 percent were white, 26.5 percent were black, and the remainder were other races. (See Table 43.) By race, 67.9 percent of persons arrested for larceny-theft were white and 29.3 percent were black. The remaining 2.8 percent were of other races. (See Table 43.)

Males accounted for 63.0 percent of the total arrestees for larceny-theft. (See Table 42.)

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Figure 2.15

Larceny-theft

Percent Change from 1998

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Figure 2.16

Larceny-theft categories

Percent Change from 1998

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Figure 2.17

Larceny-theft

Percent Distribution¹ 2002

¹ Due to rounding, the percentages may not add to 100.0.

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