Crime is down across the country, FBI data shows

Crime in the United States declined significantly in 2023, according to data released by the FBI on March 18.

Nationally, violent crime was down 5.7% from 2022 to 2023, while property crime was down 4.3%, according to FBI statistics. The biggest drop was in the number of murders, falling 13.2% from 2022 to 2023. 

In Milwaukee, violent crime dropped 16.8% from 2022 to 2023, with murders down 21.2%. Property crime also dropped, down 25.1% from 2022 to 2023.

President Joe Biden celebrated the new data and specifically pointed to the American Rescue Plan, the COVID-19 relief bill he signed into law in 2021, and the billions it allocated to state and local governments to help in crime prevention as a reason crime is dropping. According to the progressive policy institute Center for American Progress, state and local governments used $10 billion from the 2021 COVID relief bill for public safety. 

“Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which every Republican in Congress voted against, we made the largest-ever federal investment in fighting and preventing crime at any time in our history. That enabled cities and states to invest $15 billion in public safety. This record investment in crime reduction – in community violence intervention, mental health and additional officers – is delivering results,” Biden said in a statement published by the White House.

While data shows crime is declining, public polling shows Americans see crime as a serious issue in the United States. A Gallup survey conducted in October 2023 found that 63% of Americans say crime is a serious problem, up from 54% in 2021. 

Republicans have been making crime a focus of their advertising in elections across the country. And they are likely to continue that messaging in 2024.

Former President Donald Trump has been warning about “migrant crime,” even though there is no evidence to show that migrants are committing more crimes in the country than nonmigrants.

“You know, in New York, what’s happening with crime is it’s through the roof, and it’s called ‘migrant,’” NBC News reported Trump said at a campaign rally in Michigan in February. “They beat up police officers. You’ve seen that they go in, they stab people, hurt people, shoot people. It’s a whole new form, and they have gangs now that are making our gangs look like small potatoes.”

The FBI crime data, however, shows that violent crime dropped significantly in New York, down 12.4% from 2022 to 2023. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland attributed the decline in the number of crimes across the country to a violent crime reduction strategy the Justice Department launched in May 2021.

“We know that hard fought progress can easily slip away, and we must remain focused and vigilant. But today, we are encouraged by this data indicating a decrease in violent crime in communities across the country in 2023 compared to the prior year, including an over 13% decline in homicides,” Garland said in a statement on March 19.