Criminal statistics now stretch from 355,000 gun-related incidents reported to police across the U.S. in 2021 to billions in spending on the tools that help detect, document, and prosecute crime. At the same time, violence is comparatively concentrated in some regions while fraud and cyber incidents scale through credentials and data breaches. This post connects those contrasts to what agencies and investigators are actually tracking and why the numbers look the way they do.
Key Takeaways
- 355,000 gun-related incidents were reported by police in the U.S. in 2021 (as reported in the FBI data and summarized by FBI releases for firearms-related crime).
- 1 in 3 people worldwide lived in jurisdictions where the murder rate is below 5 per 100,000 in 2019 (UNODC homicide rate distribution by country groups).
- The global public safety analytics market is projected to reach USD 17.8 billion by 2027 (forecast for public safety analytics).
- The global crime analytics market is projected to reach USD 8.9 billion by 2030 (forecast based on data analytics and intelligence segments).
- The global video surveillance market is projected to reach USD 100.0 billion by 2027 (forecast for video surveillance hardware and services).
- In the UK, 1.2 million criminal offences were recorded in the year ending March 2023 involving violence and sexual offences combined (Home Office recorded crime).
- EU-27 recorded 3.9 million intentional assaults in 2022 (Eurostat crime statistics summary).
- In Canada, there were 2.8 million police-reported offences in 2022 (total police-reported offences).
- 68% of law enforcement agencies report using digital evidence management systems (survey of digital evidence adoption).
- Use of body-worn cameras reduced complaints in some studies by 15% (reported in systematic review evidence summaries).
- In controlled evaluations in the U.S., body-worn cameras reduced officer injury rates by 9% (reported in evaluation summaries).
- NIST's FRVT measured identification accuracy improvements across versions, with top systems reducing error rates by orders of magnitude over years (benchmark error-rate trend).
- $31.3 billion in merchant losses from payment fraud in the U.S. in 2023 (estimated), showing the scale of fraud-related criminal activity tied to payments
- 46% of organizations reported that phishing was the primary cause of credential theft (Proofpoint survey), connecting common initial access vectors to credential compromise
- 1.1 million fraud complaints were filed with the U.S. IC3 in 2023 (FBI IC3 total complaints), measuring criminal fraud volume
From gun incidents to fraud and cybercrime, law enforcement and analytics tech are scaling up worldwide fast.
Related reading
01 · Category
Public Safety Data2 stats
01
355,000 gun-related incidents were reported by police in the U.S. in 2021 (as reported in the FBI data and summarized by FBI releases for firearms-related crime).
02
1 in 3 people worldwide lived in jurisdictions where the murder rate is below 5 per 100,000 in 2019 (UNODC homicide rate distribution by country groups).
Interpretation
Public Safety Data Interpretation
For public safety planning, the scale of gun-related incidents is striking with 355,000 reported in the U.S. in 2021, even as globally about 1 in 3 people lived in places where murder rates were below 5 per 100,000 in 2019.
02 · Category
Market Size13 stats
01
The global public safety analytics market is projected to reach USD 17.8 billion by 2027 (forecast for public safety analytics).
02
The global crime analytics market is projected to reach USD 8.9 billion by 2030 (forecast based on data analytics and intelligence segments).
03
The global video surveillance market is projected to reach USD 100.0 billion by 2027 (forecast for video surveillance hardware and services).
04
The global law enforcement technology market is expected to grow from USD 35.2 billion in 2023 to USD 58.1 billion by 2028 (forecast for law enforcement technology category).
05
The global digital evidence management market size is forecast to grow to USD 6.8 billion by 2030 (digital evidence management market forecast).
06
The global criminal justice information systems market was valued at USD 21.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 36.9 billion by 2032 (cJIS market forecast).
07
The global fraud detection and prevention market is projected to reach USD 55.8 billion by 2028 (includes fraud detection components relevant to criminal investigations).
08
The global identity verification market is projected to reach USD 39.1 billion by 2028 (identity verification supports criminal identity workflows).
09
The global face recognition market size is forecast to reach USD 12.2 billion by 2027 (forecast for face recognition technology).
10
The global facial recognition market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 27.4% from 2021 to 2027 (growth rate for facial recognition).
11
The global managed security services market is expected to reach USD 59.2 billion by 2026 (cybersecurity services used in criminal investigations and evidence).
12
Global average cost of a data breach was USD 4.45 million in 2023 (IBM Cost of a Data Breach report).
13
USD 5.62 billion revenue in 2023 for the global cyber security services segment (industry estimate from market tracking), relevant to services supporting detection/response to criminal cyber activity
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Across public safety and criminal justice technology, market size is scaling quickly with major segments projected to surge, including video surveillance reaching USD 100.0 billion by 2027 and law enforcement technology rising from USD 35.2 billion in 2023 to USD 58.1 billion by 2028.
03 · Category
Crime Prevalence5 stats
01
In the UK, 1.2 million criminal offences were recorded in the year ending March 2023 involving violence and sexual offences combined (Home Office recorded crime).
02
EU-27 recorded 3.9 million intentional assaults in 2022 (Eurostat crime statistics summary).
03
In Canada, there were 2.8 million police-reported offences in 2022 (total police-reported offences).
04
The number of police-reported 'robbery' incidents in Australia was 49,000 in 2022-23 (ABS recorded crime).
05
In the U.S., 16.3 million property victimizations were reported in 2021 (NCVS estimate for property crime victimizations).
Interpretation
Crime Prevalence Interpretation
Across multiple countries, recorded violence and broader crime levels are reaching millions at a time, from 1.2 million violence and sexual offences in the UK and 3.9 million intentional assaults in the EU-27 to 2.8 million police-reported offences in Canada and 16.3 million property victimizations in the US, underscoring how the crime prevalence burden is consistently high rather than localized.
04 · Category
Technology Adoption1 stats
01
68% of law enforcement agencies report using digital evidence management systems (survey of digital evidence adoption).
Interpretation
Technology Adoption Interpretation
In the Technology Adoption landscape for Criminal justice, 68% of law enforcement agencies use digital evidence management systems, showing that digital tools are already the majority approach.
More related reading
05 · Category
Performance Metrics5 stats
01
Use of body-worn cameras reduced complaints in some studies by 15% (reported in systematic review evidence summaries).
02
In controlled evaluations in the U.S., body-worn cameras reduced officer injury rates by 9% (reported in evaluation summaries).
03
NIST's FRVT measured identification accuracy improvements across versions, with top systems reducing error rates by orders of magnitude over years (benchmark error-rate trend).
04
In a 2021 RAND evaluation, automated license plate readers helped reduce search time by 60% for officers (efficiency metric in ALPR operations).
05
In Verizon's DBIR, 60% of breaches involved credential theft (a measurable incident attribute relevant to criminal investigations).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across key performance metrics, technology and monitoring tools show measurable gains such as a 15% drop in complaints with body-worn cameras, a 9% reduction in officer injuries, and a 60% cut in ALPR search time, alongside rising identification accuracy and clear breach patterns where 60% of incidents involve credential theft.
06 · Category
Cost Analysis1 stats
01
$31.3 billion in merchant losses from payment fraud in the U.S. in 2023 (estimated), showing the scale of fraud-related criminal activity tied to payments
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In 2023, U.S. merchant losses from payment fraud totaled an estimated $31.3 billion, underscoring how the true cost of criminal activity in payments is massive and directly measurable for the Cost Analysis category.
07 · Category
Industry Trends2 stats
01
46% of organizations reported that phishing was the primary cause of credential theft (Proofpoint survey), connecting common initial access vectors to credential compromise
02
1.1 million fraud complaints were filed with the U.S. IC3 in 2023 (FBI IC3 total complaints), measuring criminal fraud volume
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends show that phishing drives credential theft for 46% of organizations, and with 1.1 million fraud complaints filed with the U.S. IC3 in 2023, it underscores how common initial access paths are fueling large-scale criminal fraud volume.
08 · Category
User Adoption4 stats
01
68% of organizations reported using managed security services in 2023 (survey-based adoption figure), indicating outsourcing/augmentation of criminal detection and response functions
02
72% of law enforcement agencies reported using some form of digital evidence management capability in surveys (survey adoption figure), supporting investigation workflow digitization
03
61% of organizations reported using threat intelligence feeds in 2023 (survey), supporting proactive detection against criminal infrastructure
04
58% of organizations used automated decisioning for fraud and risk controls in 2023 (survey), indicating adoption of criminal-fraud mitigation tooling
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User Adoption in criminal capabilities is clearly rising, with 68% of organizations using managed security services in 2023 and 72% of law enforcement already using digital evidence management, while threat intelligence feeds at 61% and automated decisioning for fraud at 58% show organizations increasingly turning to tools and managed support to improve detection and investigation workflows.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
James Okoro. (2026, February 13). Criminal Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/criminal-statistics
MLA
James Okoro. "Criminal Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/criminal-statistics.
Chicago
James Okoro. 2026. "Criminal Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/criminal-statistics.
Sources & references
33 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+5 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)