FBI figures show drop in violent crime

Violent crime dropped considerably in the first months of 2024 compared to the same time last year, according to statistics released Monday by the FBI.

Crime reporting for the first quarter of the year showed a 15 percent drop in violent crime overall, including a 13 percent drop in aggravated assault.

Serious violent crime like murder and rape both decreased by about 26 percent.

The figures were a victory for the Biden administration, which sought to highlight the dip as the GOP focuses on crime ahead of the 2024 election.

“This data makes clear that last year’s historic decline in violent crime is continuing,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a release alongside the crime report.

“When I became Attorney General over three years ago, we knew that grappling with the violent crime that surged early in the pandemic would be one of the greatest challenges we would face at the Justice Department. That is why we have poured every available resource into working with our law enforcement and community partners to drive down violent crime.”

Other serious crime also dipped in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2023.

Robbery decreased by 18 percent and property crime declined 15 percent.

Garland said the drop was a result of serious investment in combatting crime.

“We know there is so much more work to do, and that the progress we have seen can still easily slip away. So, we will continue to deploy our technological and prosecutorial resources to identify and prosecute the principal drivers of gun violence,” he said.