The Violent Crime Index monitors violence trends The FBI assesses trends in the volume of violent crimes by monitoring four offenses that are consistently reported by law enforcement agencies nationwide and are pervasive in all geographical areas of the country. These four crimes are murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Other crimes may be considered violent by their nature or effect (e.g., kidnaping, weapons possession, extortion, drug selling), but the four crimes that together form the Violent Crime Index have traditionally been used as the Nation's barometer of violent crime.
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