GlossaryCrime classifications
Rape
Rape is a sexual-offense classification involving specified penetration without consent, including circumstances in which a person cannot consent.
Rape is a sexual-offense classification involving specified penetration without consent, including circumstances in which a person cannot consent. In public-safety statistics, its exact coverage depends on the reporting system and version. An offense recorded as rape is a reported classification; it does not establish a court conviction.
Identify the reporting definition
The FBI's 2018 Summary Reporting System definition covers specified vaginal, anal, and oral penetration without consent. The 2025.0 NIBRS manual describes category 11A and the regrouping of previously separate sodomy and sexual-assault-with-an-object categories into rape for FBI publication.
This version distinction affects comparisons. A table using an older category structure can distribute offenses across headings that a newer publication combines. The label “rape” by itself does not establish that two tables have identical coverage.
Example
Hypothetical example: An agency's older report lists rape and sexual assault with an object in separate columns. Its newer report combines those records under a broader rape heading. The newer heading has a larger total even though the combined number across the older columns is similar.
That pattern could reflect regrouping rather than an equivalent increase in newly reported conduct. A valid trend needs a consistent category definition, period, and counting unit. The example does not establish what happened in any actual community.
Common confusion
Sexual assault is a broader term and may include nonpenetrative offenses. A total under that heading cannot automatically be treated as a rape total.
The 2025.0 NIBRS instructions also distinguish rape from the separately defined statutory-rape category. Those statistical instructions do not provide a universal legal age-of-consent rule.
Scope and care with records
Use the specific manual governing the dataset, rather than assuming this named 2025 edition applies to every release. State, federal, or tribal law determines the actual criminal charge. Brief public records may omit sensitive details, so avoid reconstructing a person's experience from a category code alone.