Criminal charge types: the most common, by the numbers
What criminal records are actually for — the charge categories on court, prison and jail records, how common each one is, and what each means.
The most common charges on criminal records
From a random sample of 66,154 criminal records on our index, the 41% that include charge detail.
A record can include charges in more than one category, so the shares add up to more than 100%. 7% of records with charge detail include a charge we could not place in a category with confidence; we leave those as “other” rather than guess.
These shares describe the records on our index (2026-10-08), which lean toward state prison and court records — not the rate of crime in the population.
| Charge category | Share of records with charge detail | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Theft, larceny and stolen property | 14% | Taking or keeping property that belongs to someone else: larceny, shoplifting, grand or petit theft, stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle. |
| Drug possession | 13% | Having a controlled substance, or drug paraphernalia, without the intent to sell it. Includes possession of marijuana where it is still a crime, and of prescription drugs without a prescription. |
| Assault, battery and threats | 10% | Causing or threatening physical harm: assault and battery, aggravated assault, threats, stalking, unlawful restraint and similar offenses. |
| Burglary and breaking & entering | 9% | Entering a building, home or vehicle unlawfully with intent to commit a crime inside — including breaking and entering. |
| Fraud, forgery and identity theft | 8% | Deception for gain: fraud, forgery, uttering a forged instrument, bad checks, identity theft and false pretenses. |
| Drug sale, distribution or manufacture | 8% | Selling, delivering, manufacturing or trafficking a controlled substance, or possessing it with intent to sell. Usually charged by drug and quantity. |
| Traffic offenses (not DUI) | 7% | Criminal traffic offenses other than DUI, such as driving with a suspended or revoked license, leaving the scene and reckless driving. |
| DUI / DWI | 6% | Driving or operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs — DUI, DWI, OWI or OVI depending on the state. |
| Public order, trespass and property damage | 6% | Disorderly conduct, trespass, resisting or obstructing an officer, vandalism and criminal mischief, and alcohol and similar offenses. |
| Sex offenses | 5% | Sexual offenses, including sexual assault, offenses against children and indecent exposure. Registry status is a separate, state-published fact. |
| Weapons offenses | 5% | Unlawful possession, carrying or use of a firearm or other weapon — including possession by a person barred from having one. |
| Robbery | 4% | Taking property from a person by force or threat. Armed robbery involves a weapon. |
| Probation/parole violations and failure to appear | 3% | Violating the terms of probation, parole or pretrial release, failing to appear in court, and escape. |
| Homicide and manslaughter | 2% | Unlawfully causing a death: murder and manslaughter in their various degrees. |
| Domestic violence | 2% | Violence or threats against a family or household member or intimate partner, and violating a protective or restraining order. |
Felony, misdemeanor or infraction
A felony is the most serious class of offense, generally punishable by more than a year of incarceration. A misdemeanor is less serious, generally punishable by up to a year in a local jail, fines or probation. An infraction is a minor violation, often not criminal at all.
Only 9% of the records in our sample state the level of a charge. Where they do, 60% are felonies, 34% misdemeanors and 6% infractions. For the rest, the charge text and the court are the guide.
A charge is not a conviction
93% of court cases on our index do not state how they ended. Among those that do, 43% ended in a conviction, guilty plea or adjudication, 14% were dismissed or ended in a not-guilty finding, and 43% are still open.
Read every charge with its disposition — and when there is none, treat it as unresolved. The guide to reading a background check covers how.
Abbreviations you will see on charge records
Courts, jails and corrections agencies publish charges in their own shorthand. These are the abbreviations that come up most on the records on our index.
A grade or modifier — aggravated, attempted, first degree — changes how serious the charge is, not which category it belongs to. An “attempted burglary” is still a burglary charge, at a lower grade.
| On the record | Means | Category |
|---|---|---|
| B&E | Breaking and entering | Burglary and breaking & entering |
| BURG / BURGL | Burglary | Burglary and breaking & entering |
| PWID / W/I / WITS | Possession with intent to distribute (or sell) | Drug sale, distribution or manufacture |
| CDS | Controlled dangerous substance | Drug possession |
| PARA | Drug paraphernalia | Drug possession |
| DUI / DWI / OWI / OVI | Driving or operating while impaired | DUI / DWI |
| DWLS / DWLR | Driving while license suspended / revoked | Traffic offenses (not DUI) |
| AWDW | Assault with a deadly weapon | Assault, battery and threats |
| AGG | Aggravated — a more serious form of the offense | — |
| ATT | Attempted | — |
| CPW | Carrying or criminal possession of a weapon | Weapons offenses |
| RSP | Receiving stolen property | Theft, larceny and stolen property |
| L/L | Lewd and lascivious | Sex offenses |
| VOP / VOCC | Violation of probation / community control | Probation/parole violations and failure to appear |
| FTA | Failure to appear in court | Probation/parole violations and failure to appear |
| 1ST DEG / 2ND DEG | First degree / second degree — the grade of the offense | — |
The same offense goes by different names in different states
Every state writes its own criminal code, so one kind of conduct can carry several names. Impaired driving is DUI in some states, DWI, OWI or OVI in others. Shoplifting may be charged as retail theft, petit theft or larceny. Breaking into a home can be burglary of a dwelling, home invasion or felony breaking and entering, depending on the state and the circumstances.
That is why a record’s charge text matters more than any label we put on it. Our categories group those different names so the numbers are comparable from state to state; the original charge, as the court, jail or agency published it, stays on every record.
The same goes for severity. Whether an offense is a felony or a misdemeanor depends on the state, the amount involved and prior history — a theft can be either. Read the level on the record, not the category, when severity matters.
The most common charge category in each state
For states with enough sampled records to say. Each state links to its criminal records page.
States differ partly because of what they publish — some contribute mostly state prison records, others mostly court cases. Each state’s criminal records page shows the mix of record types behind its numbers.
| State | Most common charge category | Share | Records with charge detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Theft, larceny and stolen property | 34% | 16% |
| Arizona | Drug possession | 38% | 20% |
| Florida | Theft, larceny and stolen property | 17% | 83% |
| Illinois | Weapons offenses | 15% | 43% |
| Indiana | Drug possession | 34% | 58% |
| Iowa | DUI / DWI | 22% | 14% |
| Kentucky | Drug possession | 42% | 36% |
| Missouri | Drug possession | 17% | 86% |
| Nebraska | Theft, larceny and stolen property | 17% | 43% |
| Nevada | Theft, larceny and stolen property | 13% | 68% |
| New York | Weapons offenses | 16% | 6% |
| North Carolina | Theft, larceny and stolen property | 13% | 72% |
| Ohio | Assault, battery and threats | 25% | 19% |
| Oklahoma | Drug possession | 17% | 91% |
| Texas | Assault, battery and threats | 16% | 10% |
| Vermont | Probation/parole violations and failure to appear | 17% | 97% |
| Virginia | Traffic offenses (not DUI) | 27% | 36% |
| Washington | Traffic offenses (not DUI) | 31% | 50% |
Criminal charge types — questions
What are the most common criminal charges?
On the criminal records on our index, the most common charge categories are theft, larceny and stolen property (14%), drug possession (13%), assault, battery and threats (10%), burglary and breaking & entering (9%) — shares of records that include charge detail.
What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?
A felony is the more serious class, generally punishable by more than a year of incarceration; a misdemeanor generally carries up to a year in a local jail, fines or probation.
What is a public order offense?
A charge such as disorderly conduct, trespass, resisting an officer, vandalism or criminal mischief — offenses against public peace or property rather than a person.
What does a probation violation charge mean?
That the person was accused of breaking the terms of probation, parole or pretrial release — for example missing a meeting or a new arrest. It is recorded as its own charge.
Are drug charges the most common?
They are among the most common. On our index, drug possession appears on 13% of records with charge detail and drug sale or distribution on 8% (a record can hold both); theft appears on 14%.
Does every criminal record list the charge?
No. Only 41% of the records in our sample include charge detail; many publish a case or custody status without the charge text.
What does aggravated mean on a criminal charge?
That the offense came with a factor the law treats as making it more serious — for example a weapon, a serious injury, or a victim in a protected group. Aggravated assault is a more serious charge than simple assault, and is often a felony.
What is the difference between burglary and robbery?
Burglary is unlawfully entering a building or vehicle intending to commit a crime inside; nobody needs to be present. Robbery is taking property from a person by force or threat. A burglary can happen in an empty house; a robbery always involves a victim who is there.
Why does the same offense have different names on different records?
Each state writes its own criminal code, so one kind of conduct can carry several names — DUI, DWI, OWI or OVI for impaired driving, for example. The charge text on the record is the official wording; our categories group the names so they can be compared.
Categories are our grouping of the charge text each court, jail or agency publishes. Offendersearch results are not a consumer report.