Despite reported declines in crime rates, the FBI's data fails to account for significant gaps in reporting, resulting in an incomplete picture of public safety in America. True crime rates remain far higher than pre-pandemic levels, especially in urban centers.
The recent announcement of declining crime rates by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been met with a chorus of applause from some quarters. Yet, this rosy picture belies the true extent of the crime crisis that continues to plague far too many American communities.
While any decrease in crime is certainly welcome, the FBI's data falls woefully short of providing a complete picture of crime and public safety in America. The data is derived from the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which relies on voluntary reporting by participating law enforcement agencies across the country.
America's Crime Crisis: Beyond the Headlines
However, in 2021, the UCR underwent a significant transition from the old reporting methods to a new, more comprehensive system called the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). This change resulted in thousands of previously reporting agencies failing to adapt, leaving large portions of nationwide crime data unaccounted for.
Some of the nation's largest and most violent cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, were not prepared for the switch, and the absence of their crime statistics undoubtedly skewed the overall findings.
America's Crime Crisis: Beyond the Headlines
Compounding the limitations of the UCR data is the fact that it only reflects crimes reported to the police, not all crimes that have been committed. Sadly, for many Americans, reporting crimes often feels like a dead end, especially when they believe perpetrators will never be held accountable by a criminal justice system that increasingly adopts soft-on-crime policies like cashless bail and early release programs.
To better understand the true nature of crime in society, the Department of Justice conducts the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Unlike the FBI's UCR, the NCVS surveys nearly a quarter million people each year to gain a clearer picture of the scope and extent of criminal activity, both reported and unreported to the police.
America's Crime Crisis: Beyond the Headlines
The 2023 NCVS presents a more sobering view of crime in America. It reveals that the rate of violent victimization—a category that includes rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—among people 12 or older remained virtually unchanged from 2022.
The NCVS also found that less than half of robbery victims reported their victimizations to the police last year, reflecting a public weary of crime and disheartened by a criminal justice system that too often appears to prioritize the needs of criminals over those of victims.
America's Crime Crisis: Beyond the Headlines
Undoubtedly, over any given time, some cities will see crime rates rise while others may see them fall, but as a nation, we are far less safe than we were just a few years ago. Crime, particularly in urban centers, remains significantly higher than it was before 2020 and the rise of the defund-the-police movement.
By renewing our commitment to supporting law enforcement and demanding that criminal justice leaders return to traditional law-and-order policies that hold offenders accountable, we can begin to truly restore safety and security in our communities.
America's Crime Crisis: Beyond the Headlines
While one study may suggest that our national crime crisis is abating, this doesn't change the reality facing many Americans in their own communities, where violence and lawlessness continue to impact daily life. Statistics alone cannot capture the lived experiences of those still grappling with persistently high crime in their neighborhoods.
We must not become complacent in the face of declining crime rates. Instead, we must redouble our efforts to combat the root causes of crime and ensure that all Americans can live in safe and secure communities.
