Violent crime has increased under the Harris-Biden administration, according to Justice Department data released Friday — contradicting ABC News debate moderator David Muir’s correction of Donald Trump during his confrontation with Kamala Harris Tuesday night.
The DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey are self-reported incidents of violent crime in the past six months – meaning it also includes crimes that may not have been reported to police.
The annual National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) shows that the total number of reported violent crimes – including rape, robbery and aggravated assault – increased from 5.6 per 1,000 in 2020 to 8.7 per 1,000 in 2023.
The highest recent rate of violent crime occurred in 2022, when the survey recorded 9.8 cases per 1,000 people over the age of 12.
The number of rapes rose from 1.2 per 1,000 in 2020 to 1.7 in 2023, while robberies went from 1.6 per 1,000 in 2020 to 2.6 per 1,000 in 2023, and aggravated assault rose from 2.9 per 1,000 in 2020 to 4.5 per 1,000 in 2023.
The question of whether crime has increased under the Harris-Biden administration compared to Trump’s was a major point of contention in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, as the 45th president charged that “crime in this country is through the roof.”
“President Trump,” Muir interjected, “as you know, the FBI says that overall violent crime in this country is on the decline.”
The 2024 quarterly FBI report that Muir was likely referring to does not take into account crimes that are not reported to police. but shows that violent crime has decreased by 15.2% when comparing the first three months of 2023 with the same period this year.
The FBI statistics included murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault among violent crimes – but were far from a complete picture, as only 72% of the law enforcement population participated in the report.
Trump took a victory lap Friday after the report was released, citing the Bureau of Statistics report during a news conference in Southern California.
“Remember where David Muir tried to correct me that crime is rampant like never before?” Trump told reporters.
“I think so [the DOJ] They were probably watching the debate and heard this foolish man, this foolish fool make that statement against me,” the 78-year-old added.
The NCVS also showed that other types of crime increased compared to 2019, including violence by strangers (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 versus 5 .3 per 1,000 in 2023).
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 adviser for research and statistics, told The Post that there are several reasons for the discrepancy between the FBI and DOJ figures.
“There are reasons why you could argue that the number of crimes reported to police in the FBI data has gone down,” Lott said, noting that the number of law enforcement officers in cities like New York has “slumped” in recent years. .
He added that the NCVS was created decades ago to ensure accountability for crimes that go unreported to police.
“About 40% of violent crimes are reported to police and about 30% of property crimes are reported to police,” Lott continued, adding that the controversy comes down to whether people only care about reported crimes, or “ total crime.”
“I guess people are more concerned about the overall crime,” he said.
On Friday afternoon, Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt Muir, the host of ABC’s “World News Tonight,” called for “an immediate public apology to President Trump for improperly and rudely fact-checking him during the debate.”
“This new data proves President Trump was right,” Leavitt added. “Violent crime is on the rise and if Kamala is given another four years to implement her weak approach to crime, defund the police and implement a no-bail policy – America will continue to turn into a crime-ridden hellhole for illegal immigrants, Venezuelan gangsters and drug dealers. ONLY President Trump will restore law and order. If Americans want to be safe, VOTE for TRUMP.”
ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
