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FOX NewsDec 23, 2023
FBI: Violent US Crime Dropped Sharply in Early 2024
Above: FBI, ATF and local police investigate an explosion at a FedEx facility in Schertz, Texas. Image copyright: Scott Olson/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) purport that violent crime across the US dropped by 15.2% during the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
The decline was mostly driven by more than the 25% drop in cases of rape and murder reported, while aggravated assault fell by 12.5% and robberies by 17.8%.
The Spin
Republican narrative
These numbers only tell part of the story about crime in America, as they are based on voluntary reporting from police departments. The main issue in this country remains dismal arrest and prosecution records from progressive district attorney's offices, which leads to emboldened criminals and gamified statistics.
Democratic narrative
The perception of the GOP being "tough on crime" doesn't match the reality, as this steep drop reverses the spikes that occurred under the Trump administration. Trump's attacks on law enforcement agencies and his personal attempts to flout the law are a testament to his lack of care regarding law and order.
Cynical narrative
There's a technical issue that must be accounted for when reporting US crime statistics. The FBI's transition to a new crime reporting system for local jurisdictions has led to major data gaps — including in New York City and Los Angeles. Accordingly, it's actually unclear if crime nationwide has gone up, gone down, or stayed relatively the same. This data gap must be rectified in order to give the public the information it deserves — and to defend against bad faith political arguments on both sides.