(NewsReady.com) – In 2020, America experienced an incredibly violent year. Murders skyrocketed by almost 30% between 2019 and 2020. The overall violent crime rate went up by approximately 5%. Those numbers decreased between 2022 and 2023. The latest FBI crime figures show it has fallen even more.
On June 10, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program released its preliminary Quarterly Uniform Crime Report for January through March 2024. The data showed a 17.8% drop in robberies, rapes fell by 25.7%, murders decreased by 26.4%, and aggravated assaults fell by 12.5%. It showed the overall crime rate fell by 15% in quarter one of 2024, compared to 2023.
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a press release after the UCR made the crime data public. He said the preliminary data proved last year’s declining rates have continued this year. The AG also made it clear that the decline in murders isn’t an abstract statistic, it “represents people whose lives were saved” and who will now live to “see their children grow up, to work toward fulfilling their dreams, and to contribute to their communities.”
The FBI will release more complete data once 80% of the participating law enforcement agencies respond. So far, only 72% have submitted the data at this point. AH Datalytics Co-Founder Jeff Asher called the preliminary data “often accurate, if imprecise.” He explained that the US will “almost certainly have a third straight year of declining murder” rates.
President Joe Biden commented on the report, saying the declining rates were the result of hiring more cops, “holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street.” He commended his administration for the drop, claiming, “Americans are safer today” than they were when he took office.
Former President Donald Trump previously said he didn’t believe the 2023 crime rates fell. He accused the FBI of reducing the numbers. The former POTUS also wanted to know if officials were adding the crimes committed by migrants to the numbers.
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