US crime in steepest rise since '74-75 recession

Crime in the United States in 1979 took its biggest jump since the recession years of 1974-75, according to the Uniform Crime Index. Serious crime increased 9 percent, and violent crimes increased 11 percent. The index also showed that only 20 percent of the reported index crimes were solved by law enforcement officials. The bulk of those unsolved were property crimes, such as burglary and larceny, which are 90 percent of the nation's crime volume, and arson. Of those arrested for crimes, 40 percent were under age 21 and 57 percent under age 25.

Index information comes from more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide.