The Biden-Harris administration claims crime is down, but independent sources cry foul—who’s telling the truth?
The Biden-Harris administration proudly declares that violent crime has fallen under its watch, citing data from a coalition of cities. President Biden even claims that America is safer now than when he took office. It sounds great, right? But hold up! According to data from the Coalition for Law, Order, and Safety (CLOS), violent crime is on the rise in 66 major cities. Aggravated assaults are up over 16% since 2019, and homicide rates have also increased.
The Biden-Harris team isn’t just throwing out these claims lightly. They point to preliminary data and elaborate plans to fund additional police officers and crime prevention programs. But independent reviews sing a different tune. While the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) reports a 6% decrease in crime from January to June 2023 compared to 2024, these short-term trends hardly paint the full picture.
Biden-Harris admin says crime is down, but independent data shows violent crime up across 66 cities https://t.co/Ike67iTDtU
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 17, 2024
The discrepancies in federal and independent crime data bring the reliability of these statistics into question. The Biden administration paints a rosy picture, but the longer-term analysis points to a troubling trend. Indeed, almost 40% of local law enforcement agencies have stopped transmitting crime data to the FBI, leading to unreliable national crime statistics. This alone casts doubt on the administration’s confident claims.
“If you compare pre-COVID, like we’re trending in the right direction, but aggravated assault is still up over 16% from 2019,” Cooper said. “That’s sizable. And especially when people are feeling unsettled by crime, aggravated assault is a better barometer of sentiment, when it comes to crime than the homicide numbers. Homicide is still up since 2019.”
The lack of accurate data only fuels public distrust. The NCVS shows a significant portion of crimes are not reported to the police—only 42% of violent crimes and 32% of property crimes. Imagine that! What’s their administration doing to fix this mess of unreliable and incomplete crime data? Instead, they are asking for more funding, more police officers, and more programs when they can’t even get the numbers right!
Under President Biden’s leadership, we’re seeing the lowest violent crime rate in 50 years and the largest drop in murders ever.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 30, 2024
The Biden administration’s Safer America Plan aims for community policing, crime prevention, mental health, and substance use treatment services, with a staggering $37 billion investment. Key components include funding 100,000 additional police officers and focusing on serious crimes like fentanyl trafficking and organized retail theft . But how effective can these initiatives be when the backbone of their policy—crime data—is so fractured?
“Americans are safer today than when Vice President Harris and I took office,” according to President Biden’s office in a statement. “We can’t stop now. That’s why I will continue to urge Congress to fund 100,000 additional police officers and crime prevention and community violence intervention programs, and make commonsense gun safety reforms such as a ban on assault weapons.”
Public safety remains a hot-button issue for voters, with six out of ten U.S. adults deeming it a political priority. Yet, here we are, grappling with unreliable data from the administration tasked with keeping us safe. What a joke! When you can’t trust the one holding the keys to the nation, it’s not just politics—it’s a matter of life and death for many Americans. We deserve better than empty words. We need action based on solid facts, not skewed numbers.
