Biden touts drop in US crime rate in 2023

President Biden on Tuesday touted the decrease in crime in 2023, citing data from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The FBI data, released on Tuesday found that the U.S. experienced 11 percent less crime in cities over 1 million people compared to 2022, 13 percent fewer murders overall and 6 percent less violent crime.

“Across America, families want the same thing: the freedom to feel safe in their community. To know their kids are secure. My Administration is making it a reality,” Biden said in a statement.

Biden said that in 2020, before he took office, “the prior administration oversaw the largest increase in murders ever recorded. My Administration got to work on day one to fix that.”

He cited the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law in 2021, and the investment it made into fighting crime and public safety. The president noted that every Republican in Congress voted against the legislation.

He also cited the bipartisan gun violence prevention law and executive actions he has taken that aim to curb gun violence. And, he called on Congress to make more investments into fighting crime and to pass the assault weapons ban he has been pushing for.

“Keeping communities safe is my priority. While we’ve made major progress, we still have more work to do,” Biden said. “That’s why I’ll keep fighting to make more investments in preventing crime, to fund additional accountable police officers to ensure trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and to ban assault weapons to keep guns out of dangerous hands — and I will continue to urge Republicans in Congress to join me.”

Crime is set to be a hot-button issue in 2024 and Republicans used crime in major Democratic-run cities, like Washington, D.C., as a talking point against Biden and Democrats in the 2022 midterm election.