Criminal Justice

Uniform Crime Report Crime in the United States, 2018

Crime in the United States, 2018 U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation Released Fall 2019

Offenses Cleared In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, law enforcement agencies can

clear, or “close,” offenses in one of two ways: by arrest or by exceptional means.

Although an agency may administratively close a case, that does not necessarily mean

that the agency can clear the offense for UCR purposes. To clear an offense within the

UCR Program’s guidelines, the reporting agency must adhere to certain criteria, which

are outlined in the following text. (Note: The UCR Program does not distinguish

between offenses cleared by arrest and those cleared by exceptional means in collecting

or publishing data via the traditional Summary Reporting System.)

Cleared by arrest

In the UCR Program, a law enforcement agency reports that an offense is cleared by

arrest, or solved for crime reporting purposes, when three specific conditions have been

met. The three conditions are that at least one person has been:

• Arrested.

• Charged with the commission of the offense.

• Turned over to the court for prosecution (whether following arrest, court

summons, or police notice).

In its clearance calculations, the UCR Program counts the number of offenses that are

cleared, not the number of persons arrested. The arrest of one person may clear several

crimes, and the arrest of many persons may clear only one offense. In addition, some

clearances that an agency records in a particular calendar year, such as 2018, may

pertain to offenses that occurred in previous years.

Cleared by exceptional means

In certain situations, elements beyond law enforcement’s control prevent the agency

from arresting and formally charging the offender. When this occurs, the agency can

clear the offense exceptionally. Law enforcement agencies must meet the following four

conditions in order to clear an offense by exceptional means. The agency must have:

Crime in the United States, 2018 U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation Released Fall 2019

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• Identified the offender.

• Gathered enough evidence to support an arrest, make a charge, and turn over the

offender to the court for prosecution.

• Identified the offender’s exact location so that the suspect could be taken into

custody immediately.

• Encountered a circumstance outside the control of law enforcement that

prohibits the agency from arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender.

Examples of exceptional clearances include, but are not limited to, the death of the

offender (e.g., suicide or justifiably killed by police or citizen); the victim’s refusal to

cooperate with the prosecution after the offender has been identified; or the denial of

extradition because the offender committed a crime in another jurisdiction and is being

prosecuted for that offense. In the UCR Program, the recovery of property alone does not

clear an offense.

Clearances involving only persons under 18 years of age

When an offender under the age of 18 is cited to appear in juvenile court or before other

juvenile authorities, the UCR Program considers the incident for which the juvenile is

being held responsible to be cleared by arrest, even though a physical arrest may not

have occurred. When clearances involve both juvenile and adult offenders, those

incidents are classified as clearances for crimes committed by adults. Because the

clearance percentages for crimes committed by juveniles include only those clearances in

which no adults were involved, the figures in this publication should not be used to

present a definitive picture of juvenile involvement in crime.

Overview

• In the nation in 2018, 45.5 percent of violent crimes and 17.6 percent of property

crimes were cleared by arrest or exceptional means.

• When considering clearances of violent crimes, 62.3 percent of murder offenses,

52.5 percent of aggravated assault offenses, 33.4 percent of rape offenses, and

30.4 percent of robbery offenses were cleared.

Crime in the United States, 2018 U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation Released Fall 2019

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• Among property crimes, 18.9 percent of larceny-theft offenses, 13.9 percent of

burglary offenses, and 13.8 percent of motor vehicle theft offenses were cleared.

• In 2018, 22.4 percent of arson offenses were cleared by arrest or exceptional

means.

What you won’t find on this page

Arrest data are not on this page. In its clearance calculations, the UCR Program counts

the number of offenses that are cleared, not the number of persons arrested.