For years, one of the biggest issues that plagued American families and individuals was crime. Criminal activity comes in many shapes and sizes and, sadly, is far too common in all walks of life. From young children breaking into homes to white collar crimes involving millions of dollars, people of all ages are constantly finding ways to game the system, break the law, and take advantage of people. Fortunately, violent crime has been on the decline for decades, and American is the safest it has been in many years.
Of course, crime is still a prevalent problem. Here are some of the most common crimes across the United States today:
Illegal Drug Use
This crime doesn’t discriminate at all: from children in high schools to senior citizens, Americans of all ages struggle with drug use and abuse. According to Culture Cheat Sheet, in 2015 alone, there were approximately 207,847 people incarcerated in federal prisons, and 48.6% of them were incarcerated for various drug offenses. At the state penitentiary level, of the 1.3 million individuals incarcerated, 16% of them were jailed due to a drug-related crime.
Drunk Driving
Each day, people drive drunk almost 300,000 times, but fewer than 4,000 are arrested. Despite these high levels of people getting away with driving under the influence of alcohol, this crime still remains as one of the most common forms of criminal activity in the United States, as well as one of the deadliest. Sadly, yet remarkably, one in three people will be involved in a drunk driving car crash during their lifetime and a total of 28 people die each day as a result of drunk driving.
Burglary
A home burglary, which represents 18% of all total reported crimes, actually occurs every 13 seconds in the United States. Safe Guard the World reports that burglary is actually the number one threat to an individual’s home. Every year, approximately 2 million home burglaries are reported across the country — with hundreds of thousands more unreported. Of all those burglaries, roughly 30% of them are due to unlocked or open doors. Additionally, renters aren’t all that safe from burglaries, either. In fact, renters are just as likely to be victims of property crimes as individual homeowners.
Auto Theft
Though not as prevalent as home theft, auto theft is extremely common in U.S. cities. Every year across the country there are more than one million reported stolen cars. Vehicle theft actually accounts for more than 10% of all reported annual crimes in the U.S. as well.
Fraud
This crime is becoming more and more common especially as criminals are becoming more technologically inclined. Though individuals in every state are susceptible to fraud, Florida, Nevada, and Georgia are the three states most affected by fraud.
Violent Crime
Villment crime is one of the most common committed crimes in the country. According to Princeton, aggravated assault, which is defined as an attack in intent to cause severe injury to another person (which can also involve a weapon), account for 7% of all reported U.S. crimes.
Be sure to report any suspicious activity surrounding your home, your office, or anywhere in your community. Contact law enforcement right away and, if you or someone you know is dealing with substance abuse, seek professional assistance.