Reported violent crime in the U.S. dropped by 15% in the first three months of the year, the latest evidence in a broader decline of crime that has occurred over the past year.
The decrease compared with the same period in 2023, included a major drop in murders and reported rapes, which both fell by more than a quarter, said data released by the FBI.
Aggravated assaults fell by 12.5% while robberies dropped by 17.8%, say figures gathered from more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies , reports The Guardian.
Crime analyst Jeff Asher, comparing the FBI report with more recent data reported by cities, found "places (like Washington, D.C., San Diego and Long Beach) where the FBI’s data is understating declines, and places (like Baltimore, Dallas, and New York City) where things are clearly quite wrong in the FBI data (violent crime in Baltimore and Dallas is down but nowhere near as much as suggested by the FBI’s data, and NYPD data showed a small uptick in violent crime in Q1 2024)."
Asher concluded that "the trend direction shown in the FBI data through the first quarter is likely correct but that the overall percent changes are almost certainly overstated by a good bit. Violent and property crime are probably not down 15 percent nationally (which would be far and away the largest one year decline ever recorded in both categories), but they are likely down a healthy amount."
Crime is a priority for voters, with many believing the crime rate is much higher than it actually is, polling has shown. Donald Trump has attempted to play into such fears, saying, misleadingly, that “crime is rampant and out of control, like never before”, with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee vowing to crack down on criminal gangs.
The former president has claimed that Washington, D.C., is a “nightmare of murder and crime” and that in New York City “you go right outside and people are being mugged and killed all day long.”
President Biden has boasted of a record drop in crime during his presidency. “This progress we’re seeing is no accident,” he said. "My administration is putting more cops on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street – and we are doing it in partnership with communities. As a result, Americans are safer today than when I took office.”
The Biden campaign has attempted to turn the tables on Trump over the issue of crime, noting that the former president is now a convicted felon himself after being found guilty of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
“This November, Americans will vote on the side of law and order – not for a felon who looks out for his fellow crooks,” Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that there was a surge in violent crime in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that has now been largely tamed by targeting gun crime and hiring new police officers.