WASHINGTON — The violent-crime rate went up 15 percent last year, and the property-crime rate rose 12 percent, the government said Thursday. Last year marked the second year in a row for increases in the crime victimization survey, a report that is based on household interviews.
The 2012 increases were driven by a rise in crimes that were not reported to police, a category frequently involving less-serious offenses. Simple assaults also rose. The rate of property crimes increased because of a rise in theft.
University of Maryland criminology professor James Lynch said the crime victimization survey, combined with a separate report issued by the FBI, suggests that the 20-year trend of dropping crime rates may be approaching an end.
“You’re getting more evidence that this is a change in the trend,” said Lynch, a former director of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
