The rate of U.S. violent crime went up last year for the first time in nearly two decades due to a jump in assaults , the Justice Department said on Wednesday . Data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in telephone surveys showed a 22 percent increase in assaults , pushing up the overall rate for violent crime for the first time since 1993 . Crime rates have been declining steadily over the period and last year 's increase compares with a record low figure for 2010 . Statistics showed that the rate of assault victims increased from 19.3 per 1,000 persons to 22.5 per 1,000 last year . The statistics include 3.9 million simple assaults defined as crimes involving a threat but no weapon that resulted in relatively minor injuries . A second category described as serious violent crime include rape or sexual assault , robbery , and aggravated assault . An estimated 1.8 million such incidents occurred last year , but the increase from the previous year was calculated to be statistically insignificant . The results determined that the number of victims of the more serious crime category increased among whites and Hispanics , but not blacks , and among young men , but not among young women . The survey includes unreported crimes as well as those that were reported . Many citizens admit they did n't tell police about incidents in which they were victims . Roughly half of violent crime is unreported , according to the survey . The most closely watched annual crime statistics are scheduled for release on Oct. 29 . The FBI 's Uniform Crime Report is the most closely watched report of its kind and tabulates all reported crime nationally annually . Experts say they anticipate it will show a continued decline in overall crime . A preliminary report covering the first half of 2011 indicated total violent crime fell about 4 percent .
Assaults drive first increase in U.S. violent crime rate since 1993 . The number of aggravated assaults increased by more than 50 percent from 1994 to 2008, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Justice Department and FBI -- an unprecedented rise that has fueled fears about rising crime. Crime rates had been dropping steadily for nearly two decades . Latest increase up slightly over record low of 2010 .