Violent crimes dropped 4.5 percent in 2024, FBI says – despite Trump’s claims of out-of-control crime
Violent crime across the U.S. has dropped 4.5 percent in 2024, according to the FBI, despite claims from President Donald Trump that crime is “out of control.”
The FBI’s annual crime report, released Tuesday, uses data from over 16,000 agencies across the country, covering 95.5 percent of the population.
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 14.9 percent compared to 2023, according to the FBI’s report, while rape decreased an estimated 5.2 percent. Aggravated assault decreased by an estimated 3 percent, and robbery by an estimated 8.9 percent.
While the estimates on reported crime have decreased violent crime occurred an average of every 25.9 seconds in 2024.
Still, the report’s overall findings appear to contradict statements made by Trump, who said on the campaign trail that violence in the U.S. is out of control and on the rise.
“You can’t walk across the street to get a loaf of bread. You get shot, you get mugged, you get raped,” Trump said at a Michigan campaign event last August.
The president honed in on crime in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday and said it was “totally out of control” in the capital.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
“Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday.
The same day, he followed up at a press conference and said a DOGE staffer was beaten up by a “bunch of thugs in D.C.” as he threatened to federalize the city.
“Somebody from DOGE was very badly hurt last night. A young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in DC. And either they’re gonna straighten their act out in terms of government and in terms of protection of we’re gonna have to federalize,” Trump said.
Former “first buddy” Elon Musk shared Trump’s Truth Social post on X. The billionaire claimed that a DOGE worker intervened after a group of men attempted to assault a woman.
“A @Doge team member saw what was happening, ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her,” Musk said. “It is time to federalize DC.”
Violent crime was down 35 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, according to figures from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
