Freedom

Story by Benedict Smith

Violent crime increased under Joe Biden rather than decreasing as previously thought, revised figures from the FBI show.

Thousands more murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults occurred in 2022 than the bureau had initially recorded, as first identified by RealClearInvestigations.

When it published the figures last year, the FBI reported that America’s violent crime rate fell by 1.7 per cent, but it has since revised those figures to show it actually increased by 4.9 per cent.

Some 223,511 robberies took place over the course of 2022 – more than 3,000 more than had previously been reported.

Rapes were understated by more than 7,000 cases.

Some 21,781 murders took place rather than 21,156, and 909,929 aggravated assaults occurred instead of 893,980.

The bureau did not make any reference to the revised figure in a press release on the crime statistics for 2023, which it published in September.

It’s not clear why the statistics were initially lower.

Polling consistently shows that crime ranks as one of the top priorities for voters ahead of the presidential election in November.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, was pressed on his claims about rising crime during the presidential debate in September.

“All over the world crime is down. All over the world except here,” said Trump, who was repeatedly interrupted by moderators throughout the debate. “Crime here is up and through the roof.”

He was told by David Muir, the ABC News host: “As you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is coming down in this country.”

Trump fired back by accusing the FBI of issuing “defrauding statements”, claiming that the bureau had avoided counting “the worst cities”.

Questions for FBI

The revision in FBI statistics has prompted questions about the bureau’s claim in September that crime fell by 3 per cent between 2022 and 2023.

“The question naturally arises: should the FBI’s 2023 numbers be believed?” John Lott, an economist who worked under Trump at the justice department, wrote in the RealClearInvestigations piece.

Kamala Harris, the vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, has cited the latest FBI statistics as a sign of how she and Mr Biden are cracking down on crime.

“New data submitted to the FBI confirms that our dedicated efforts and collaborative partnerships with law enforcement are working,” she said after the 2023 figures were released in September.

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“Americans are safer now than when we took office. Our progress is continuing this year and builds on substantial decreases during the previous years of our administration.”

Ms Harris, who frequently touts her credentials as a prosecutor in her campaign for the White House, added: “While we have made great progress, we are not stopping now.”

The FBI has been approached for comment by The Telegraph.