Did You Know? FBI Report Highlights Decrease in Violent Crime Nationwide

The FBI recently released its Quarterly Uniform Crime Report (Q1) for January-March 2024, offering an early look at crime trends compared to the same period in 2023. The report highlights a notable decrease in reported violent and property crimes nationwide.

According to President Biden, the decline in numbers is due to "putting more cops on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street."

Violent Crime Decreases

Data from law enforcement agencies that submitted reports for both 2023 and 2024 show a dramatic 15.2% reduction in violent crime in the first quarter of 2024 compared to last year. This includes:

• Murder: down by 26.4%

• Rape: down by 25.7%

• Robbery: down by 17.8%

• Aggravated assault: down by 12.5%

Property Crime Also Down

The report also reveals a 15.1% decrease in reported property crimes nationwide during the first three months of 2024 compared to 2023.

Use-of-Force Data Collection

The FBI's National Use-of-Force Data Collection has updated its reporting methodology to use a rolling 12-month period, providing more continuity. The latest data covers April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, with 72% of law enforcement agencies participating. The breakdown of reported use-of-force events is:

• Death: 31.7%

• Serious Bodily Injury: 55.3%

• Discharge of Firearm: 13.6%

The actual number of incidents will be released once the participation rate reaches 80%.