Violent crime within the U.S. dropped in 2023, in accordance with FBI statistics that present a continued development downward after a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike.
Total violent crime declined an estimated 3% in 2023 from the 12 months earlier than, in accordance with the FBI report Monday. Murders and non-negligent manslaughter dropped almost 12%.
Violent crime has develop into a focus within the 2024 presidential race, with former President Donald Trump lately claiming that crime is “through the roof” below President Joe Biden’s administration. Even with the 2020 pandemic surge, violent crime is down dramatically from the Nineteen Nineties.
Right here’s what to know in regards to the FBI’s report and the state of crime within the U.S.:
The numbers
Crime surged through the coronavirus pandemic, with homicides growing almost 30% in 2020 over the earlier 12 months — the most important one-year leap because the FBI started maintaining information. The rise defied simple clarification, although specialists mentioned doable contributors included the large disruption of the pandemic, gun violence, worries in regards to the economic system and intense stress.
Violent crime throughout the U.S. dipped to close pre-pandemic ranges in 2022, in accordance with the FBI’s knowledge. It continued to tick down final 12 months, with the speed falling from about 377 violent crimes per 100,000 individuals to in 2022 to about 364 per 100,000 individuals in 2023. That’s simply barely greater than the 2019 price, in accordance with Deputy Assistant Director Brian Griffith of the FBI’s Legal Justice Info Companies Division.
“Are we looking at crime rates at a return to pre-pandemic levels? I think a reasonable person would look at that and say, ‘Yes, that’s what has happened,’” Griffith mentioned in an interview with The Related Press.
Legislation enforcement companies within the greatest municipalities within the U.S. — communities with a minimum of 1,000,000 individuals — confirmed the largest drop in violent crime final 12 months — almost 7%. Businesses in communities between 250,000 and 499,999 individuals reported a slight improve — 0.3%— between 2022 and 2023.
Rapes decreased greater than 9% whereas aggravated assault decreased almost 3%. Total property crime decreased greater than 2%, however motorcar theft shot up almost 13%. The motorcar theft price — almost 319 per 100,000 individuals — was the best final 12 months since 2007.
The constraints of the FBI’s knowledge
The FBI collects knowledge via its Uniform Crime Reporting Program, and never all legislation enforcement companies within the U.S. take part. The 2023 report is predicated on knowledge from greater than 16,000 companies, or greater than 85 p.c of these companies within the FBI’s program. The companies included within the report shield almost 316 million individuals throughout the U.S. And each company with a minimum of 1 million individuals in its jurisdiction supplied a full 12 months of knowledge to the FBI, in accordance with the report.
“What you’re not seeing in that number are a lot of very small agencies,” Griffith mentioned.
Different crime reviews
The FBI’s report is in step with the findings of the nonpartisan Council on Legal Justice, which earlier this 12 months analyzed crimes charges throughout 39 U.S cities, and located that the majority violent crimes are at or under 2019 ranges. That group discovered there have been 13 p.c fewer homicides throughout 29 cities that supplied knowledge through the first half of 2024 in contrast the identical interval the 12 months earlier than.
On the marketing campaign path, Trump has cited one other latest Justice Division survey to counsel the crime is uncontrolled below the Biden administration.
That Nationwide Crime Victimization Survey, launched earlier this month, reveals that the violent crime victimization price rose from about 16 per 1,000 individuals in 2020 to 22.5 in 2023. However the report notes that the speed final 12 months was not statistically totally different from the speed in 2019 — when Trump was president. And the speed has declined dramatically general because the Nineteen Nineties.
The FBI’s report and the Nationwide Crime Victimization Survey use totally different methodologies and seize various things.
The victimization survey is carried out yearly via interviews with about 240,000 individuals to find out whether or not they had been victims of crimes. Whereas the FBI’s knowledge solely consists of crimes reported to police, the victimization survey additionally goals to seize crimes that weren’t.
As a result of it’s achieved via interviews with victims, the victimization survey doesn’t embody knowledge on murders. And it solely captures crimes in opposition to individuals ages 12 and over.
