18 USC § 16 - Crime of violence defined

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t18/s16"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "18 USC § 16 - Crime of violence defined"
title_number: 18
title_name: "CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE"
section_number: "16"
section_name: "Crime of violence defined"
chapter_number: 1
chapter_name: "GENERAL PROVISIONS"
part_number: "I"
part_name: "CRIMES"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-21"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 1001(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2136.)"
---


# § 16. Crime of violence defined

The term “crime of violence” means—

**(a)** an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or

**(b)** any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.

---

**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 1001(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2136.)

## Editorial Notes

### Constitutionality

For information regarding the constitutionality of this section, as added by , see the Table of Laws Held Unconstitutional in Whole or in Part by the Supreme Court on the Constitution Annotated website, constitution.congress.gov.