Homicide and other violent crimes fell across the US last year, according to FBI data

WASHINGTON — Crime rates, which include serious violence such as murder and rape, fell nationwide from 2022 to 2023, according to new data released Monday by the FBI.

Violent crime fell about 3% from 2022 to 2023, and property crime fell a similar 2.4%, the FBI reported in its annual “Crime in the Nation Summary.” The most serious crimes fell significantly: murder and non-negligent manslaughter fell an estimated 11.6% — the largest single-year declines in two decades — while rape fell an estimated 9.4%.

Preliminary numbers 2024 also showed crime numbers began to decline earlier this year, and this continues disposition Crime rates are decreasing as the US emerges from the pandemic.

Among property crimes, theft decreased by an estimated 7.6%. However, motor vehicle theft increased by an estimated 12.6% between 2022 and 2023. Recorded thefts also increased: from 999,394 in 2022 to 1,149,336 in 2023, about the same level of incidents reported in 2019, before the pandemic. (Store closures and COVID-19 safety measures likely reduced thefts in 2020 and 2021 and may have affected 2022 incidents.)

Public perception of crime often inconsistent with realityEspecially in an age of social media, the ease of digital communication between neighbors, and doorbell cameras, Americans may be more aware of individual crimes than in the past.

But according to new data from the FBI, the violent crime rate dropped from 2022 to 2023, from 377.1 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2022 to 363.8 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2023.

While campaigning in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, on Monday evening, former President Donald Trump offered a different perspective on the numbers, claiming that crime rates are “through the roof.”

“Only a stupid person would say crime is down,” Trump said. “You don’t have to know anything about the numbers. If you live in this country, you know crime is up.”

As part of his 2024 campaign, Trump has sought to promote the idea that the United States is experiencing a crime wave, and in a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he called the FBI’s previous numbers a “fraud” and said that some cities were not included. However, the FBI does include gaps in information in its estimates. The bureau noted that the 2023 data includes full-year numbers from “every city entity with a population of 1,000,000 or more.”

Overall, the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) collected information from 700 additional agencies in 2023 compared to 2022. The total population covered by the report is more than 315 million people, or 94.3% of the country.

President Joe Biden said Monday that FBI data confirms that “Americans are safer than when we took office,” adding that violent crime is near a 50-year low.

“None of this happened by chance. Vice President Harris and I invested in public safety and took action to stop the flow of illegal guns into our communities. Our American Rescue Plan, which every Republican in Congress voted against, helped provide over $15 billion in public safety funding that has enabled more than 1,000 states, cities, and counties to avoid cuts to police budgets, invest in community violence responses, and take other essential steps to keep communities safe,” Biden said.