US larceny / theft offenses, 1985 to 2025

Law enforcement agencies in United States reported 334,734 larceny / theft offenses in 2025-12, up 13.5 percent from the year before. The window spans 1985-01 to 2025-12, with the high at 1,254,529 (1997-12) and the low at 216,544 (2021-02).

How it is measured

The offense is defined as taking property without force, violence, or fraud: shoplifting, bicycle theft, theft from vehicles. Counts come from the FBI's Crime Data Explorer, which aggregates the monthly reports police agencies submit to the national crime statistics program; the chart sums them to years so trends read over seasonality. In the monthly data behind the chart (the download), December totals run well above nearby months across the whole series: agencies that reconcile annually report year-end catch-ups then, a reporting pattern rather than a seasonal one. Reported crime is not total crime: it counts what victims reported and agencies recorded, and agency participation shifts over time, most sharply around the 2021 transition to the NIBRS reporting system, which temporarily lowered coverage.

What the curve shows

Larceny is the most numerous index crime and the most under-reported one; small thefts often never reach the police at all. Within a consistent reporting era the trend is meaningful; across eras, level comparisons need the coverage caveat in mind.