The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data for the first three months of 2024 has so far shown a drop in both violent crime and homicides, continuing a trend from 2023, but at least one investigative reporting site believes the numbers could be "deceptive" and "unreliable."

Reported incidents of violent crime were down 15% and murders were down 26% in the bureau's report, which Attorney General Merrick Garland said was "historic."

Part of the issue that led the Washington Examiner to call the bureau's numbers "deceptive" in 2023 was the participation rate--in other words, the percentage of police departments and other law enforcement that reported crime data.

Less participation

According to an April Examiner piece, the participation rate for law enforcement dropped from 89% of agencies covering 97% of the population to 63% of agencies covering only 65% of the population.

The current report stated that actual numbers of crime categories and incidents won't be released until participation reaches 80%, and ABC News reporting of the crime data suggested that it only covered 77% of the population.

This is an improvement over 65%, but is a far cry from 97%. It leaves the FBI guessing in regards to the true number of crimes.

Biden taking credit

That hasn't stopped Garland and others in the Biden administration for suggesting they are doing a bang-up job handling crime.

President Joe Biden said Monday in a statement, "Violent crime is dropping at record levels in America. It’s good news for our families and our communities."

"This progress we’re seeing is no accident. My Administration is putting more cops on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street – and we are doing it in partnership with communities. As a result, Americans are safer today than when I took office," he added.

His spokesperson took it even further and claimed that Biden was "clean[ing] up [Trump's] mess."

Voters not fooled

Americans' perceptions of crime in the U.S. do not match up with the numbers given by the FBI, however.

A Gallup poll from November showed that three-fourths of Americans believe there is more crime nationwide than a year ago, and half believe there is more crime in their local area than a year ago.

Biden is running out of time to change the perception that crime is on the rise and getting worse because of Democrats' lax policies.

That's the problem with lying to Americans--eventually they won't believe you even if you are telling them the truth.

People don't know what or who to believe, so a growing number won't believe anything the government tells them.