INDIANA — Simple assault was the most commonly committed criminal offense in Indiana, according to an analysis of recent FBI crime data.
The study, conducted by the legal research firm Injury Lawyer Team, utilized the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Law Enforcement Agency Reported Crime Analysis Tool (LEARCAT) to examine criminal offenses across the country. The findings pinpoint exactly which offenses were reported most frequently by law enforcement agencies throughout the Hoosier State.
In Indiana, simple assault took the top spot with 37,897 recorded incidents. To put that figure into perspective, an incident of simple assault was documented more than once every 14 minutes across the state’s participating law enforcement agencies over the course of the year.
The 10 Most Common Crimes in Indiana
Following simple assault, drug-related offenses, and property theft rounded out the top tiers of the state’s most frequent law enforcement encounters.
| Rank | Offense Type | Total Recorded Incidents |
| 1 | Simple assault | 37,897 |
| 2 | Drug or narcotic violations | 29,999 |
| 3 | All other larceny | 27,591 |
| 4 | Shoplifting | 14,940 |
| 5 | Motor vehicle theft | 13,660 |
| 6 | Aggravated assault | 12,259 |
| 7 | Theft from a motor vehicle | 12,250 |
| 8 | Drug equipment violations | 12,183 |
| 9 | Intimidation | 12,025 |
| 10 | False pretense, swindling, and confidence games | 11,142 |
Drug and narcotic violations ranked second statewide with nearly 30,000 incidents, while “all other larceny” placed third. The FBI categorizes “all other larceny” as any unlawful taking of personal property that does not fit into a specific subcategory like shoplifting, purse-snatching, or breaking into a vehicle.
Indiana’s crime profile heavily mirrors national patterns. Across the United States, simple assault was the most common criminal offense overall, surpassing two million recorded incidents. It led the charts in 28 separate states, including heavily populated hubs like California and Texas.
Nationally, property damage or vandalism ranked as the second most common offense (1.55 million incidents), followed closely by general larceny (1.41 million incidents).
On a regional level, Indiana shares its top law enforcement headache with most of its neighbors. Simple assault was also the number-one offense in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Kentucky proved to be the regional outlier, where drug or narcotic violations registered as the most frequently committed crime.
Despite public perception often leaning toward the contrary, the data highlights a significant, undeniable downward trend in overall criminal activity.
“If you asked the average person whether they thought crime rates were rising or falling, they’d probably say rising,” noted Jonathan Rosenfeld, founding attorney at Injury Lawyer Team. “However, the data shows crime rates are down almost everywhere in the country.”
Indiana saw a notable double-digit improvement, with total criminal incidents per 100,000 residents declining by 10.9%. While researchers acknowledge that some of the drop could stem from administrative adjustments or shifts in how local police departments report their numbers, the underlying trajectory indicates a clear decline.
Legal experts also point out that these metrics reflect a unique reality about local communities.
“The most commonly committed offense in a state says more about the priorities of law enforcement in that state than the rate at which offenses are committed,” Rosenfeld added, noting that hyper-local enforcement focus heavily dictates what ends up on federal statistical ledgers.
