Crime statistics come from multiple datasets covering different time periods, detail levels, and offense types. These sources approach crime data differently and can sometimes provide different answers to the same question. The assistant will now automatically pick the best source. More information on sourcing is provided below.
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The Crime Data Assistant is an AI-powered research tool that lets you ask questions about crime in the United States using plain English. Instead of downloading spreadsheets or navigating government websites, you type a question like “How have murders trended in Chicago since 2020?” and get back an interactive chart, a data table, and an explanation — all generated in real time.
Under the hood, an AI model translates your question into a database query, runs it against real crime data, and formats the results. Always remember – I am a bot and may make mistakes from time to time. Verify findings with official sources such as the Crime Data Explorer.
Explanation
A plain-English summary of what the data shows, generated by AI with context about limitations.
Chart
An interactive line, bar, or area chart. Hover over data points for exact values.
Data Table
Sortable raw numbers. Click column headers to sort. Export as CSV.
Each database covers different time periods, detail levels, and collection methods. Your question is automatically routed to the best source.
| Current Trends | Historical | NIBRS | Supplementary Homicide | Hate Crime | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source | Agency Data | FBI Uniform Crime Report | FBI NIBRS Master Files | FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports | FBI Hate Crime Statistics |
| Time Range | 2017–present | 1930–2024 | 1991–present | 1976–present | 1991–present |
| Granularity | Monthly | Annual | Incident-level | Incident-level | Incident-level |
| Coverage | Hundreds of agencies | 10,000+ agencies | Varies by year | Varies by year | ~15,000 agencies (voluntary) |
| Crime Types | Part I UCR (7 offenses) | Part I UCR + staffing | 52+ NIBRS offenses | Homicides only | Bias-motivated crimes |
| Best For | Recent trends | Long-term trends | Deep analysis | Homicide analysis | Hate crime / bias trends |
This data comes from The Crime Index, a project by AH Datalytics that collects monthly crime data directly from police department websites, the FBI's Crime Data Explorer, and public records requests. It covers the 7 traditional Part I UCR crime categories: violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft). Note that some reported data may be preliminary, subject to change, and may not precisely match figures that will eventually be formally reported to the FBI.
Why it exists: The FBI publishes annual crime estimates with a delay. This dataset fills the gap by providing near real-time monthly data from hundreds of the largest police departments to establish local, statewide, and national crime trends. It's the best source for answering “what's happening right now?”
What “national sample” means: Several hundred agencies report consistently every month. When you ask for “national” trends, the assistant uses only this consistent sample so that month-to-month changes reflect actual crime changes, not agencies dropping in and out of the data.
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program is the longest-running crime data collection in the U.S., dating back to 1930. The FBI collects annual crime counts from law enforcement agencies nationwide and publishes them as annual reports.
Why it exists: This is the gold standard for historical crime analysis. If you want to know how crime has changed over decades — or compare a city's crime rate in 1990 vs. 2020 — this is the dataset to use.
Key caveat: The data you see here reflects what agencies submitted to the FBI though not all agencies have reported in all years, especially before 1960. Additionally, not every crime is reported to law enforcement every year.
NIBRS is the FBI's modern, incident-level crime reporting system. Instead of just reporting annual totals, agencies submit detailed records for every individual crime incident — including information about victims, offenders, weapons, drugs, property, injuries, and how the case was resolved.
Why it exists: The older Summary Reporting System only captured aggregate offense counts. NIBRS captures a fuller story of each incident. This makes it easy to answer questions like “how many vehicle burglaries were there in Texas last year?” or “what percentage of carjacking victims are male?”
Key caveat: NIBRS participation has grown slowly. In the early 1990s, only a handful of states reported. By 2021, the FBI required all agencies to switch to NIBRS, and coverage is nearly 90% of the U.S. population. When looking at trends over time, always consider whether an increase reflects more crime or simply more agencies reporting. An agency reporting an increase in crimes from one year to the next may have simply started reporting via NIBRS in the middle of a year.
What it can't do: The database has total jurisdiction population but not population broken down by race, gender, or age. This means you can calculate per-capita crime rates for a city or state, but you cannot calculate rates like “murders per 100K females” because the female population isn't available.
The Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) are a specialized FBI data collection focused exclusively on homicides. Since 1976, agencies have submitted detailed records for each murder and manslaughter — including victim and offender demographics, weapon used, victim-offender relationship, and the circumstance of the killing.
Why it exists: While NIBRS and UCR count homicides, the SHR provides richer detail about each killing. You can answer questions like “what share of murders involved a firearm?”, “how has domestic homicide trended since 1990?”, or “what is the age breakdown of murder victims in Texas?”
Key caveats: Not all agencies report SHR data every year. Most notably, Florida did not submit SHR data for most years between 1997 and 2020. Alabama and some other states have inconsistent reporting. National counts from SHR will undercount actual homicides.
About offender data: Approximately 40% of homicide incidents have no recorded offender information. Having offender demographics recorded does not mean the case was solved or cleared — this dataset does not measure clearances. When viewing offender breakdowns, results reflect only cases where offender demographics were recorded at the time of reporting.
Crime data is nuanced. Additionally, I am a bot and may sometimes make mistakes. Keep these in mind when interpreting results and always verify findings with official sources if you're uncertain.
Be specific
“Murder rate in Houston 2020–2024” beats “crime in Texas.”
Try different tabs
Each tab draws from a different database. If one can’t answer your question, another might.
Specify a time range
Say “2019 to 2024” instead of “recently” for more relevant results.
Ask follow-ups
The assistant remembers context. Try “now show that as a rate per 100K.”
Built by AH Datalytics. Data is provided as-is for research purposes. Always verify critical findings against the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the FBI.