The violent crime rate across the country, excluding simple assault, dropped by 15 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to new crime statistics released by the Justice Department (DOJ) on Monday.
The results (pdf) found that from 2018 to 2019 the rate of violent crime fell from 8.6 to 7.3 victimizations per 1,000 people aged 12 years and above. This fall is partly driven by a decline in rape or sexual assault victimization, which fell from 2.7 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2018 to 1.7 per 1,000 in 2019, the department says.
