Fact check: Trump falsely claims US crime stats are only going up. Most went down last year, including massive drop in murder | CNN Politics
www.cnn.com
Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed on Tuesday that US crime statistics are ā€œonlyā€ going up. In fact, most US crime numbers went down last year ā€“ and the decreasesĀ included one of the largest national declines in murder ever recorded.

Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed on Tuesday that US crime statistics are ā€œonlyā€ going up. In fact, most US crime numbers went down last year ā€“ and the decreasesĀ included one of the largest national declines in murder ever recorded.

Trumpā€™s speech in MichiganĀ focusedĀ on crime perpetrated by people who illegally entered the US. After he said that crime in Venezuela has fallen amid a wave of emigration from the South American country ā€“ and exaggerated the extent ofĀ Venezuelaā€™s improvementĀ ā€“ he added, ā€œWouldnā€™t we love to have a statistic where crime is down 67%? Ours is only going in one direction.ā€ He pointed sharply upward with his hand.

Facts First:Ā Trumpā€™s claim that US crime statistics are only going up is false. Murder, other kinds of reported violent crime and reported property crime allĀ dropped in 2023, according to preliminary statistics published by the FBI. Crime data expert Jeff Asher says that, if confirmed by final data, the roughly 13% decline in murder would be the single biggest one-year drop on record in US data dating back to 1960, while the roughly 6% decline in reported violent crime would be one of the biggest on record; reported violent crimeĀ declinedĀ in every quadrant of the country, in cities of all sizes and in in rural communities. In addition, as Asher hasĀ pointed out, partial urban data for early 2024 shows that the number of murders again declined sharply in the first two months of this year.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
      11Ā·
      8 months ago

      One of the frustrating parts of these ā€œTrump saidā€¦ā€ headlines is that they donā€™t counter the prevailing view. They just entrench the view behind ā€œDo I like/trust Donald Trump?ā€

      Because, if youā€™re MAGA, then youā€™re going to use this as evidence of the Lying Mainstream Media.

      And if youā€™re a Bidencrat, youā€™re going to use this as evidence of Lying Trump.

      But at the end of the day, both these cohorts are still going to be sold on Nextdoor ā€œthere was a black person in my neighborhood!ā€ grainy door-cam footage and Sinclair Media police-sirens local ā€œnonpartisanā€ media coverage.