A report released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week indicates that violent crime rates have risen under the administration of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. This contradicts ABC News debate moderator David Muir’s claim during his Tuesday night showdown with Donald Trump, where he corrected Trump on the matter.
The DOJ’s report is based on self-reported instances of violent crime over the last six months. These statistics include crimes that may not have been reported to the police.
According to the annual National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the overall rate of reported violent crime, which includes rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, has increased from 5.6 per 1,000 in 2020 to 8.7 per 1,000 in 2023. The highest recent rate was recorded in 2022 when the survey tracked 9.8 instances per 1,000 people over the age of 12.
This is a major point of contention between Trump and Harris. During their Tuesday night debate in Philadelphia, Trump charged that “crime in this country is through the roof.” Muir interjected to say, “President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is coming down in this country.
The 2024 quarterly report from the FBI that Muir likely referenced does not account for crimes that go unreported to police but shows that violent crime decreased by 15.2% when comparing the first three months of 2023 to the same period this year. However, the FBI statistics only include murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault under violent crimes – and the report’s coverage is not comprehensive as it only accounts for 72% of the law enforcement population that participated in the report.
After the release of the DOJ report on Friday, Trump took to a press conference in Southern California to claim victory over Muir’s misinformation. You remember where David Muir tried to correct me that crime is rampant like never before?” Trump told reporters. I guess they probably watched the debate and they heard this foolish man, this foolish fool make that statement to me,” he added.
The NCVS also revealed other forms of crime were on the rise from 2019, including stranger violence (8.1 per 1,000 compared to 11.4 per 1,000 in 2023) and violent crime with a weapon (4.0 per 1,000 vs 5.3 per 1,000 in 2023. Motor car theft has also increased from 3.9 per 1,000 in 2019 to 6.1 per 1,000 in 2023.
John Lott, a former Justice Department senior advisor for research and statistics, explained that there are multiple reasons the discrepancy between the FBI and DOJ numbers exist. He pointed out that the number of law enforcement officers in cities like New York has “plummeted” over the past few years. Furthermore, he added that the NCVS was set up decades ago to account for crimes that don’t get reported to the police.
In light of these statistics, Trump’s spokesperson Karoline Leavitt called on Muir to issue an immediate public apology to President Trump for wrongly and rudely fact-checking him on the debate stage. She added that violent crime is up under the current administration and that if Kamala Harris is given another four years, “America will continue to turn into a crime-ridden hellhole.
ABC News has not immediately responded to a request for comment from The Post.
