According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, in 2019, of the 1,203,808 violent crimes reported to police, only 45.5 percent were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. Of the 6,925,677 property crime offenses reported to police in 2019, only 17.2 percent were cleared by arrest or exceptional means.

In 2000, of the 1,131,923 violent crimes reported to police, 47.5 percent were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. Of the 8,235,013 property offenses in 2000 reported to police, only 16.7 percent were cleared by arrest or exceptional means.

Table: Clearance Rates for Reported Violent and Property Crimes in the US, 1996-2019

In the UCR Program, a law enforcement agency reports that an offense is cleared by arrest, or solved for crime reporting purposes, when three specific conditions have been met. The three conditions are that at least one person has been:

• Arrested.
• Charged with the commission of the offense.
• Turned over to the court for prosecution (whether following arrest, courtsummons, or police notice).