FBI says violent crime dropped last year

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Violent crime dropped about 3% in 2023, according to the FBI’s latest data. The national report finds murder down nearly 12% from the year before.

“We saw the largest ever one-year decline in homicides all across the country,” Stefanie Feldman said.

Stefanie Feldman with the White House’s National Gun Violence Prevention Office says the report is good news. It also showed a 9% drop in rapes and a 3% drop in aggravated assaults.

“This shows you that the comprehensive strategy that President Biden and Vice President Harris are taking to reduce crime and make our communities safer is working,” Feldman said.

The data include crimes reported to more than 16,000 participating law enforcement agencies that protect more than 300 million people in the U.S.

However, Zack Smith with the Heritage Foundation says national data paint too broad a picture.

“Because crime is a hyper-localized phenomenon,” Smith said.

Smith says local crime data is more reflective of what people actually experience.

“For many people, unfortunately, on the South Side of Chicago, to say that the crime rate nationally overall has dropped, that’s not the reality they are living in their day to day lives,” Smith said.

Smith also points to different data that recently came out from the DOJ’s 2023 national survey of crime victims.

“It consistently shows that there is an underreporting of both property crime and violent crime happening today,” Smith said.

Later this week, Feldman says the president will announce new actions aimed at fighting gun violence in America.

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