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According to the FBI annual report "Crime in the United States," the majority of non-misdemeanor crimes in the U.S. are property crimes. These are nonviolent offenses that include burglary, larceny (theft that occurs outside of the home), and motor vehicle theft. Of these, larceny is the most common. If you live in a city with a population over 100,000, you can check your local crime statistics on the downloadable PDF of the preliminary 2004 report. You'll notice the number of violent crimes, such as murder, forcible rape, and aggravated assault, is much less than the number of property crimes. The Santa Cruz Police
Department offers a summary of common crimes and advice on how to react to each circumstance. This article from the Ladies' Home Journal offers tips on how to avoid five common crimes, including credit card and identity theft. Statistics for corporate crime and Internet fraud are hard to come by, but you'll find more traditional crime trends and numbers at the official White House site as well as the U.S. Department of Justice.
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