Despite Donald J. Trump’s claims, crime in the U. S. has dropped. There was no evidence of a spike in violent crime before this report—aside from Trump’s fabrications. The only significant increase was car theft, which grew by nearly 13%.
As first reported by NBC News, the FBI reported the change between 2022 and 2023 as the “largest drop” in decades.
Crime, including serious incidents like murder and rape, fell nationally from 2022 to 2023. Violent crime decreased about 3% and property crime by 2. 4%, according to the FBI’s annual “Summary of Crime in the Nation.”
Murders and non-negligent manslaughter dropped by an estimated 11. 6%, while rape declined by an estimated 9. 4%. Preliminary numbers for early 2024 also show a decrease, continuing a trend as the U. S. emerges from the pandemic.
Why does crime seem to be increasing?
Answer: Social Media
Public perception often misaligns with facts due to social media and digital communications making individual crimes more visible than before. We are bombarded with nationwide crime stories around the clock thanks to Yahoo and MSN algorithmic news feeds, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and smartphone messaging. However, decades ago we were only privy to crime in our general vicinity unless it was an extraordinary event a la 9/11 or a mass shooting. And we only learned about those local crimes when we watched the local news or read the city/county paper.
Today, someone in Northern Virginia can, without trying, learn details about a random 7-11 burglary in Los Angeles, something that would have never reached them 15, 20 or 30 years ago.
The violent crime rate dropped from 377. 1 per 100, 000 people in 2022 to 363. 8 per 1,000 people in the year ending ’23. On Monday, Trump told supporters that crime was “through the roof,” dismissing statistical evidence.
