For as long as the evening news has existed, America has been portrayed as a dangerous place to live. Reminding people we’re a very safe country — especially over the past 30 years — doesn’t draw in viewers.
And it doesn’t draw in voters, either. Among the many, many, many things Donald Trump lied about in his mid-July news conference is the violent crime rate in this country. (He also claimed his opponent, vice president Kamala Harris is weak on crime, despite her long history as a prosecutor.)
I think our country right now is in the most dangerous position it’s ever been in from an economic standpoint, from a safety standpoint, both gangs on the street and frankly, gangs outside of our country in the form of other countries that are, frankly, very powerful. They’re very powerful countries.
I won’t speculate as to the nature of “gangs outside of our country,” especially those in the “frankly very powerful” countries. But it’s patently false to claim the US is in the “most dangerous position it’s ever been in… from a safety standpoint.”
This sort of thing has been said repeatedly by Trump. There are variations on the theme, but the theme remains the same, no matter what the data actually says. While there was a noticeable increase in crime in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, crime rates did not increase everywhere in the country. What spikes were observed during that year have mostly receded. And, it must be noted, this happened during Donald Trump’s presidency, despite the promise he made at the beginning of his term to turn this country into a nation that automatically gives officers all the respect they’ve failed to earn on their own.
Meanwhile, social media and legacy news media outlets have contributed their part to this false narrative by insisting that viral videos of anomalous criminal behavior is representative of the nation as a whole.
The FBI’s most recent data — the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) — shows double-digit decreases across the board in violent crime and property crime rates.
A comparison of data from agencies that voluntarily submitted at least two or more common months of data for January through March 2023 and 2024 indicates reported violent crime decreased by 15.2 percent. Murder decreased by 26.4 percent, rape decreased by 25.7 percent, robbery decreased by 17.8 percent, and aggravated assault decreased by 12.5 percent. Reported property crime also decreased by 15.1 percent.
This report is far from complete. Participation by US law enforcement agencies is barely over 70%. Additionally, the FBI revamped its crime categorization, which may result in some crimes being over- or under-reported until every reporting law enforcement agency is on the same page in terms of crime classification.
But it still looks like pretty good news, even though you’ll never hear it from the alarmists and opportunists who seem to always have access to the largest megaphones.
More data has been released by another agency that compiles its own crime rate reporting. The Major Cities Chiefs Association’s report [PDF] covers 69 of the nation’s largest cities. And the drops in crime rates covered here are precipitous.
54 of the 69 major cities in the report saw drops in violent crime — defined as homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — in the first half of 2024, according to the Axios review.
Columbus, Ohio, experienced the largest percentage decline in violent crime in the nation, with a massive 41% drop so far in 2024. Omaha, Nebraska, was second with a 30% decrease.
Miami and Washington, D.C., so far, have seen 29% declines in violent crime.
Austin, Texas, saw a 28% drop, followed by New Orleans with a 26% decrease.
On top of that, Boston saw a 78% decrease in homicides. And Philadelphia — a city tough-on-crime types like to bash because of its election of a “progressive” district attorney — saw a 42% drop in homicides over the same period.
The data contradicts the narrative. But the narrative is often the only thing most people will pay attention to. Crime rates peaked in the early-1990s and have been decreasing steadily since then. Contrary to Trump’s assertions, this nation is in the safest position it’s ever been in, in terms of crime rates. More people should be made aware of these facts and adjust their actions accordingly. There’s no reason we, as a nation, should continue to put up with powerful and influential people who continue to insist otherwise.
