The Hidden Truth: America’s crime crisis is not over

Despite what you may hear, far too many American communities are still plagued by crime, so citizens are understandably concerned about public safety and the well-being of their families.

You may not realize this if you only follow the mainstream media, which last week essentially declared our nation’s public safety crisis over and touted Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data showing a significant decline in crime rates across the country.

While any decline in crime is certainly welcome, the FBI’s data is far from enough to provide a complete picture of crime and public safety in America. Let me explain.

The data announced by the media comes from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which has been one of the most important benchmarks for understanding and interpreting public safety in America for almost a century. This system is a collection of crime data voluntarily submitted by participating law enforcement agencies across the country.

While useful and informative, it may be limited by the number of agencies actually submitting their data – an issue that will be exacerbated in 2021 with the transition from the old reporting methods to a new, more comprehensive system called National Incident-Based Reporting system tightened.

When reporting mechanisms were changed, thousands of previously reporting agencies were unable to adapt to the change, leaving large portions of nationwide crime data unaccounted for. Some of the country’s largest and most violent cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, were unprepared for the change, and the lack of their crime statistics undoubtedly skewed the overall results.

Although many agencies have made the necessary adjustments to submit their data to the FBI since the changes took effect in 2021, far too many still have not.

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Adding to the limitations of the UCR data is the fact that it only reflects crimes reported to police, not all crimes committed. Unfortunately, reporting crimes often feels like a dead end for many Americans, especially when they believe that perpetrators will never be held accountable by a criminal justice system that is increasingly adopting softer measures like cashless bail and early release programs.

To better understand the true nature of crime in society and to address the limitations of the FBI’s reporting systems, the Justice Department began conducting the National Crime Victimization Survey in 1973, surveying nearly a quarter of a million people each year to get a clearer picture of its scope and extent of criminal activity, both reported and unreported criminal activity.

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Unlike recent FBI results, the 2023 survey offers a more sobering view of crime in America. It showed that the rate of violent victimization – a category that includes rape, robbery and aggravated assault – among people aged 12 and over remained virtually unchanged compared to 2022.

It also found that less than half of robbery victims reported their victimization to police last year. This statistic shows that the public is tired of crime and discouraged by a criminal justice system that too often seems to prioritize the needs of criminals over those of victims.

There is no doubt that crime rates will rise over time in some cities while they may fall in others, 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 advent of the defund the police movement.

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Fortunately, it doesn’t have to stay that way. 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 in our communities.

While a study suggests our national crime crisis is easing, that doesn’t change the reality many Americans face in their own communities, where violence and lawlessness continue to impact daily life. Statistics alone cannot capture the lived experiences of those who still struggle with persistently high levels of crime in their neighborhoods.

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