FBI Reports Decline in Violent Crime in 2023: Key Insights from the Report

In 2023, violent crime in the United States saw a notable decrease, according to statistics released by the FBI. This decline reflects an ongoing trend following a surge in crime during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FBI’s recent report indicates that overall violent crime dropped by an estimated 3% compared to the previous year. Notably, incidents of murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased by nearly 12% during this period.

This issue of crime has captured significant attention in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. Former President Donald Trump has recently claimed that crime rates have skyrocketed under President Joe Biden’s administration. Despite the spike observed during the pandemic in 2020, violent crime remains significantly lower than levels experienced during the 1990s.

The statistics illustrate how crime fluctuated during the pandemic years. In 2020, the U.S. experienced a staggering increase in homicides, nearly 30% higher than in 2019, marking the largest single-year rise since the FBI began tracking such data. Experts attribute this increase to a variety of factors, including economic uncertainty, heightened stress levels, and a rise in gun violence.

According to FBI data, the rate of violent crime has returned to levels seen before the pandemic. In 2022, the rate fell to approximately 377 violent crimes per 100,000 people, decreasing further in 2023 to around 364 per 100,000 people. This figure is only slightly above the rate recorded in 2019, indicating a potential return to normalcy.

Brian Griffith, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, commented on the findings, suggesting that one could reasonably conclude that crime rates are returning to pre-pandemic levels.

In the most populated cities across the U.S., law enforcement agencies reported the most significant reduction in violent crime last year, with a nearly 7% decline noted in communities of over one million residents. In contrast, cities with populations between 250,000 and 499,999 experienced a slight rise of 0.3% in violent crime from 2022 to 2023.

The report showed that rapes fell by more than 9%, and aggravated assaults decreased by almost 3%. While reports of property crime saw a decline of over 2%, motor vehicle theft surged by nearly 13%, reaching the highest rate since 2007 at approximately 319 incidents per 100,000 people.

It’s important to note the limitations of the FBI’s data collection. The figures are derived from the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which does not encompass every law enforcement agency in the U.S. The 2023 report is based on data from more than 16,000 agencies, covering over 85% of those participating in the FBI’s program and representing roughly 316 million people.

Griffith remarked that many smaller law enforcement agencies were not included in the data set, which could impact the overall numbers.

Other crime reports align with the FBI’s findings. The nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice conducted an analysis of crime rates across 39 U.S. cities and found that most violent crimes are at or below levels seen in 2019. Specifically, there was a 13% reduction in homicides among 29 cities that reported data for the first half of 2024 compared to the same timeframe the previous year.

Within the political arena, Trump has pointed to another recent Justice Department survey to assert that crime rates are out of control under the Biden administration.

This National Crime Victimization Survey indicated that the violent crime victimization rate rose from around 16 per 1,000 individuals in 2020 to 22.5 in 2023. However, it also clarified that this rate was statistically similar to that of 2019, the year before Biden took office. Overall, violent crime rates have witnessed a significant decline since the 1990s.

The FBI’s report and the National Crime Victimization Survey employ different methodologies, capturing distinct aspects of crime. While the FBI’s data consists solely of crimes reported to law enforcement, the victimization survey includes unreported incidents as well, based on interviews with approximately 240,000 individuals. Notably, the victimization survey does not account for murder data and is limited to crimes against those aged 12 and older.