Case Explained: FBI Releases Monthly Crime and Law Enforcement Data — FBI – Legal Perspective

On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program released the first iteration of monthly crime and law enforcement data on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer (CDE) at cde.ucr.cjis.gov.  

The FBI’s monthly updates replace quarterly releases and include data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, the Summary Reporting System, the Hate Crime Statistics Program, and the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program. The CDE’s Crime, Hate Crime, Expanded Homicide Data, Expanded Property Crime, and Arrest pages will show data submitted to the FBI through the 14th of the most recent released month. Trends for preliminary violent and property crime displayed on the home page will show a 12-month period with a 3-month delay. The 3-month delay allows data to stabilize for a more reliable assessment of year-to-year changes in reported data.   
 
It is the responsibility of each state UCR program or contributing law enforcement agency to submit accurate statistics and correct existing data that are in error. Monthly releases will allow agencies to identify any errors and submit corrections in a timely manner. Any updated data will be promptly released during the first monthly release after the correction is submitted.  
 
The transition to monthly data releases promotes transparency and provides an opportunity for consumers to view more timely data. It also allows contributors to participate as partners in data quality and completeness. Aside from federal agencies, participation in the FBI’s UCR Program is voluntary and not all agencies submit data monthly; however, the FBI encourages agencies to continue working toward adopting a monthly reporting cadence.  
 
The FBI will continue to produce the annual “Reported Crimes in the Nation” report and special reports.