Should You Believe Faulty U.S. Crime Stats or Your Own Lying Eyes? It's a Tough Call | RealClearInvestigations

In recent weeks the Biden administration and many news outlets, including USA Today and The Hill, have touted declines in violent crime statistics to argue that America is becoming a safer place. - James Varney,...

"...Declining arrest rates and slowing police 911 response times help explain why polls show Americans believe crime is rising.

• From 2017 to 2019, the U.S. had an average of 16,641 homicides a year. 
• In 2021 and 2022, however, the country saw considerably more bloodshed, with an average of more than 22,000 annual homicides. 
• ...“There are social media videos of people walking into a CVS and walking out with a shopping cart full and there seems to be no consequences – that’s part of the problem,” said Jay Town, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. “
• And then you have people arrested a dozen times and they’re out with no bail. There are no consequences, and thus there are more criminals in the street.”

Americans may fall back on such perceptions in part because the official reports are incomplete and rife with error...