It wasn’t your imagination.

Violent crime in 2011 was up a whopping 18% according to recently released numbers from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Just another reason to get yourself the means with which to defend your family and the training to know how to use it effectively!

 

FoxNews has the story:

Violent crime jumps 18 percent in 2011, first rise in nearly 20 years

WASHINGTON –  Violent crimes unexpectedly jumped 18 percent last year, the first rise in nearly 20 years, and property crimes rose for first time in a decade. But academic experts said the new government data fall short of signaling a reversal of the long decline in crime.

The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported Wednesday that the increase in the number of violent crimes was the result of an upward swing in simple assaults, which rose 22 percent, from 4 million in 2010 to 5 million last year. The incidence of rape, sexual assault and robbery remained largely unchanged, as did serious violent crime involving weapons or injury.

Property crimes were up 11 percent in 2011, from 15.4 million in 2010 to 17 million, according to the bureau’s annual national crime victimization survey. Household burglaries rose 14 percent, from 3.2 million to 3.6 million. The number of thefts jumped by 10 percent, from 11.6 million to 12.8 million.