Glossary
Property crime
As the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation defines it, in the words of its Crime in the United States, 2019: offense definitions.
Official definition
In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims. The property crime category includes arson because the offense involves the destruction of property; however, arson victims may be subjected to force. Because of limited participation and varying collection procedures by local law enforcement agencies, only limited data are available for arson. Arson statistics are included in trend, clearance, and arrest tables throughout Crime in the United States, but they are not included in any estimated volume data. The arson section in this report provides more information on that offense.
On this site
Agencies serving 96.4% of the population reported 5,167,096 property crime offenses to the FBI in 2025. See the figures →
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Sources
- Crime in the United States, 2019: offense definitions — U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation · retrieved September 27, 2026
Compiled automatically from Crime in the United States, 2019: offense definitions by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built
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