ICYMI: Violent Crime (Continues) Falling

During the previous Administration, in 2020, we saw the largest increase in murders ever recorded.

Now, violent crime is dropping at record levels.

This week, the FBI released data showing crime and gun violence rates plummeted in the first quarter of 2024. These large decreases follow major reductions in crime in nearly every category last year – including one of the lowest rates for all violent crime in 50 years and significant declines in murder.

It's no accident.

President Biden's American Rescue Plan – which every Republican voted against – delivered $15 billion to cities to hire and retain more cops. He signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, the most significant gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years. But there's more work to do, which is why President Biden is fighting for funding for 100,000 additional police officers, and crime prevention and community violence intervention programs.

See more below:

CNN: Violent crime is down and the US murder rate is plunging, FBI statistics show
[Josh Campbell and Devan Cole, 06/10/2024]

Violent crime dropped by more than 15% in the United States during the first three months of 2024, according to statistics released Monday by the FBI.

The new numbers show violent crime from January to March dropped 15.2% compared to the same period in 2023, while murders fell 26.4% and reported rapes decreased by 25.7%. Aggravated assaults decreased during that period when compared to last year by 12.5%, according to the data, while robberies fell 17.8%.

The numbers released Monday were gathered from 13,719 of the just over 19,000 law enforcement agencies from across the country, according to the bureau.

Meanwhile, property crime went down 15.1% in the first three months of this year. Burglaries dropped 16.7%, while motor vehicle theft decreased by 17.3%. The declines in violent and property crimes were seen in every region of the US.

[...]

The US murder rate has declined since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it a surge in homicides across the country. FBI figures showed the number of homicides increased nearly 30% from 2019 to 2020 – the largest single-year increase the agency had recorded since it began tracking these crimes in the 1960s – and violent crime during the same period increased by 5%.

The Hill: Drop in violent crime is 'no accident,' Biden says
[Lauren Sforza, 06/10/2024]

The FBI released new preliminary numbers on violent crime for the first quarter of 2024 on Monday, showing that violent crime overall decreased by 15 percent. Biden boasted about these numbers in a statement, saying violent crime "is dropping at record levels."

"This progress we're seeing is no accident. 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," Biden said in the statement.

Murders dropped by 26 percent, and robberies dropped by about 18 percent, according to the FBI data. Biden said his administration has "got to work protecting the American people," saying that the American Rescue Plan has "delivered $15 billion to cities to hire and retain more cops and keep communities safe."

NBC News: New FBI stats show 'historic' declines in violent crime rate, with murder showing sharpest drop
[Tom Costello and Corky Siemaszko, 06/11/2024]

The latest FBI statistics point to a "historic" drop in crime in the first quarter of this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland says.

And this, after a year in which the murder rate fell at one the fastest rates ever recorded, a top criminologist added.

The rate of violent and property crimes dropped precipitously in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to quarterly statistics released Monday by the FBI known as the Uniform Crime Report.