President Joe Biden this week touted a "record decrease in crime" after the FBI released its quarterly crime data, sparking criticism from Donald Trump's campaign as he seeks to quell concerns about crime ahead of the November presidential election.
The FBI crime data released on Tuesday showed a drop in nearly every type of crime from the fourth quarter of 2022 to 2023, a victory touted by the White House, which attributed the decline to legislation signed into law by Biden, such as the American Rescue Plan.
Biden's conservative critics have blamed policies embraced by some Democrats for what they view as high crime rates. FBI data from recent years shows that while crime spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has generally decreased since 2021.
"This week, the FBI released data showing that crime declined across nearly every category in 2023. Last year, we also had one of the lowest rates of all violent crime in more than 50 years and the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history. That's good news for the American people," the statement reads.
It added that lawmakers "still have more work to do" to fight crime.
The White House took a veiled jab at the Trump administration, saying that Biden's predecessor "oversaw the largest increase in murders ever recorded."
Former President Donald Trump's campaign, in a statement to Newsweek, disputed Biden's framing, accusing him of "releasing violent criminals back on the streets" and allowing "tens of millions of illegal criminals to invade our country."
"Joe Biden is trying to convince Americans not to believe their own eyes, but the majority of Americans see that Biden and the 'Defund the Police' Democrats have turned great American cities into cesspools of bloodshed and crime," said Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
She pointed to statistics that show a rise in carjackings across the United States, adding that if Trump is reelected, he would "empower local law enforcement to arrest criminals and deport illegal aliens."
Crime Dropped in 2023
Crime generally decreased from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, according to the FBI. Violent crime was down 5.7 percent, with murders declining 13.2 percent, rape declining 12.5 percent, robberies declining 4.7 percent and aggravated assault dropping 4.8 percent.
Property crime also declined by 4.3 percent. Burglaries were down 9.8 percent, arson dropped 8.2 percent and larceny-theft dropped 6.2 percent, according to the FBI.
However, one crime did see a considerable spike. Motor vehicle theft increased 10.7 percent, continuing a trend of vehicle theft rising in recent years.
COVID-19 Pandemic Saw Violent Crime Spike, But It Has Dropped Since
Instances of violent crime, such as murders, increased during the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of the Trump administration. Since then, however, most violent crime has been on the decline. In 2019, there were 5.1 homicides per 100,000 people, but in 2020, that number grew to 6.5 homicides per 100,000 people before peaking in 2021 at 6.8 homicides per 100,000 people.
In 2022, that figure dropped to 6.3 homicides per 100,000 people, according to FBI data. Similarly, instances of aggravated assault increased from 2019 to 2020 but fell in the following years. Rape declined in 2020, increased in 2021, and again dropped in 2022. Robberies have been on a steady decline since 2017.
Notably, some violent crimes, including homicides, were still higher than their pre-pandemic numbers despite declines.
While conservatives blamed the spike in violent crime on progressive criminal justice reform passed in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, such as bail reform, some experts argue other factors play a more significant role in crime rising during the pandemic.
A Brennan Center for Justice report from July 2022 pointed to increases in gun purchases, as well as socioeconomic factors, as the causes of violent crime increase. The report noted that the pandemic exacerbated mental health concerns, disrupted local nonprofits aimed at crime prevention, and created a deeply "unequal" economic recession that played a role in crime.
"While many white-collar workers were able to shift to remote work, people in the service industry, gig economy, and other sectors faced extended unemployment, making the Covid-19 recession 'the most unequal in U.S. history.' Those challenges were likely compounded for people with a criminal record, who face a difficult labor market even in the best of times," the report reads.
Most Property Crimes Declined During Biden Administration
Some property crimes have decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic, but motor vehicle theft remains on the rise, according to FBI data. Burglary, for instance, has steadily dropped each year of both Biden and Trump's presidential tenures. Arson jumped in 2020 but fell below pre-pandemic levels in 2021 and 2022.
Larceny theft notably dropped in 2020 and 2021 but increased in 2022. In 2021, there were 1,305.5 instances of larceny theft per 100,000 people. In 2022, that number rose to 1,401.9 larceny thefts per 100,000 people. However, the new FBI data suggested that larceny thefts declined from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023 by 6.2 percent.
However, motor vehicle thefts increased by nearly 11 percent, continuing prior year trends starting in 2019, when there were 220.8 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people.
By 2022, that number grew to 282.7 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people.
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Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
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