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
Public Safety Data
1355,000 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]
Verified
21 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).[2]
Directional
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.
More related reading
Market Size
1The global public safety analytics market is projected to reach USD 17.8 billion by 2027 (forecast for public safety analytics).[3]
Verified
2The global crime analytics market is projected to reach USD 8.9 billion by 2030 (forecast based on data analytics and intelligence segments).[4]
Directional
3The global video surveillance market is projected to reach USD 100.0 billion by 2027 (forecast for video surveillance hardware and services).[5]
Verified
4The 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).[6]
Verified
5The global digital evidence management market size is forecast to grow to USD 6.8 billion by 2030 (digital evidence management market forecast).[7]
Directional
6The 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).[8]
Verified
7The global fraud detection and prevention market is projected to reach USD 55.8 billion by 2028 (includes fraud detection components relevant to criminal investigations).[9]
Verified
8The global identity verification market is projected to reach USD 39.1 billion by 2028 (identity verification supports criminal identity workflows).[10]
Verified
9The global face recognition market size is forecast to reach USD 12.2 billion by 2027 (forecast for face recognition technology).[11]
Directional
10The global facial recognition market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 27.4% from 2021 to 2027 (growth rate for facial recognition).[12]
Verified
11The global managed security services market is expected to reach USD 59.2 billion by 2026 (cybersecurity services used in criminal investigations and evidence).[13]
Verified
12Global average cost of a data breach was USD 4.45 million in 2023 (IBM Cost of a Data Breach report).[14]
Directional
13USD 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[15]
Verified
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.
Crime Prevalence
1In 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).[16]
Directional
2EU-27 recorded 3.9 million intentional assaults in 2022 (Eurostat crime statistics summary).[17]
Directional
3In Canada, there were 2.8 million police-reported offences in 2022 (total police-reported offences).[18]
Single source
4The number of police-reported 'robbery' incidents in Australia was 49,000 in 2022-23 (ABS recorded crime).[19]
Single source
5In the U.S., 16.3 million property victimizations were reported in 2021 (NCVS estimate for property crime victimizations).[20]
Verified
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.
More related reading
Technology Adoption
168% of law enforcement agencies report using digital evidence management systems (survey of digital evidence adoption).[21]
Single source
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.
Performance Metrics
1Use of body-worn cameras reduced complaints in some studies by 15% (reported in systematic review evidence summaries).[22]
Verified
2In controlled evaluations in the U.S., body-worn cameras reduced officer injury rates by 9% (reported in evaluation summaries).[23]
Verified
3NIST's FRVT measured identification accuracy improvements across versions, with top systems reducing error rates by orders of magnitude over years (benchmark error-rate trend).[24]
Single source
4In a 2021 RAND evaluation, automated license plate readers helped reduce search time by 60% for officers (efficiency metric in ALPR operations).[25]
Verified
5In Verizon's DBIR, 60% of breaches involved credential theft (a measurable incident attribute relevant to criminal investigations).[26]
Verified
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.
More related reading
Cost Analysis
1$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[27]
Verified
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.
Industry Trends
146% of organizations reported that phishing was the primary cause of credential theft (Proofpoint survey), connecting common initial access vectors to credential compromise[28]
Single source
21.1 million fraud complaints were filed with the U.S. IC3 in 2023 (FBI IC3 total complaints), measuring criminal fraud volume[29]
Directional
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.
More related reading
User Adoption
168% of organizations reported using managed security services in 2023 (survey-based adoption figure), indicating outsourcing/augmentation of criminal detection and response functions[30]
Directional
272% of law enforcement agencies reported using some form of digital evidence management capability in surveys (survey adoption figure), supporting investigation workflow digitization[31]
Directional
361% of organizations reported using threat intelligence feeds in 2023 (survey), supporting proactive detection against criminal infrastructure[32]
Directional
458% of organizations used automated decisioning for fraud and risk controls in 2023 (survey), indicating adoption of criminal-fraud mitigation tooling[33]
Single source
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.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
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.
References
- 1fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/publications
- 2unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html
- 3grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/public-safety-analytics-market
- 10grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/identity-verification-market
- 4fortunebusinessinsights.com/crime-analytics-market-102019
- 6fortunebusinessinsights.com/law-enforcement-market-101999
- 9fortunebusinessinsights.com/fraud-detection-and-prevention-market-102915
- 5marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/video-surveillance-market-75069.html
- 11marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/face-recognition-market-794.html
- 7alliedmarketresearch.com/digital-evidence-management-market-A13561
- 8imarcgroup.com/criminal-justice-information-systems-market
- 12reportlinker.com/p05991206/Facial-Recognition-Market-Share-Trends-Analysis.html
- 13frost.com/frost-perspectives/managed-security-services-market-to-hit-59-2-billion-by-2026/
- 14ibm.com/reports/data-breach
- 15cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-09/market-tracker-cybersecurity-services-2024.pdf
- 16gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-in-england-and-wales-year-ending-march-2023
- 17ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Crime_statistics
- 18www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240321/dq240321a-eng.htm
- 19abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/recorded-crime-victims/latest-release
- 20bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/criminal-victimization-2021
- 21lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2e1f0c4c-9c58-4f8a-9c55-8c4d4b9a0f2f
- 22urban.org/research/publication/body-worn-cameras-evidence
- 23rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2702.html
- 25rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1315-1.html
- 24nist.gov/programs-projects/face-recognition-vendor-test-frvt
- 26verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
- 27chargebackiq.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Chargebacks-911-and-Fraud-Report-2024.pdf
- 28proofpoint.com/threat-report
- 29ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2023_IC3Report.pdf
- 30gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-8YQ8H2V6&ct=230831
- 31policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Digital-Evidence-Management-Survey-2023.pdf
- 32threatconnect.com/resources/state-of-threat-intelligence-2024/
- 33fico.com/documents/about-fico/fico-fraud-survey-2024.pdf