Following a nearly two-decade decline in violence in the United States, crime levels rose in 2016 for the second consecutive year, leading some to speculate a new wave of violence in America was emerging. The FBI’s 2017 crime statistics tell a less gripping but more encouraging story: crime is down slightly and is relatively stable over the long-term.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., John Roman, a senior fellow with the non-partisan research organization NORC at the University of Chicago, said, “I don’t see anything on the horizon that’s likely to really change this picture.” No large policy change has been proposed by decision makers on either side of the political spectrum, he explained.

There were 1.25 million violent crimes reported across the United States in 2017, down slightly from 2016.

Some cities, such as New York and Washington D.C., have made remarkable progress since the 1990s. New York, which was one of the most dangerous cities in the 1980’s and 1990’s today is the safest major city in the nation. Other cities, such as Chicago, Baltimore, and St. Louis, continue to top dangerous city lists.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed violent crime rates in major U.S. cities from the FBI’s 2017 Uniform Crime Report. Violent crime includes all offenses involving force or threat of force and is broken into four categories: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. For every 100,000 U.S. residents, 383 violent crimes were reported in 2017.

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