Jim Jordan and Andy Biggs criticize the FBI for quietly revamping 2022 crime data

Two Republicans in the House of Representatives criticized the FBI on Thursday and demanded answers from the FBI about revelations that the FBI quietly adjusted some of its 2022 crime statistics to hide the fact that crimes were increasing rather than decreasing.

Last year, the FBI initially estimated that violent crime nationwide fell 2.1% in 2022 compared to 2021. But last September, the FBI quietly released an audit showing that violent crime actually rose 4.5% during that period.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Federal Government Crime and Surveillance Subcommittee Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) sent a scathing letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday saying criticized the FBI for not being open about the major adjustment.

“The FBI has not released its 2022 violent crime data revision, and the only way to see this change is to download the FBI’s updated crime data and compare it to the previous year,” Jordan and Biggs wrote.

This revision was not mentioned in a September press release that boasted a 3.0% decrease in violent crime statewide in 2023 compared to 2022. Significantly, this alleged decline was based on corrected statistics on violent crime increases in 2022.

“The initial data for 2022 was announced as a 'historic decline' in crime rates before it was revised. Even though the FBI had the true data, there was never any clarification, while the false statistics were used to spread a false narrative,” the lawmakers added.

“The FBI’s overhaul of violent crime data confirms what our oversight has shown: the Biden-Harris crime epidemic continues to escalate, and left-wing state and local policymakers are committed to it.”

The statistics have been used as the basis for numerous fact checks throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle, including during the September 10 debate between President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The bureau's methodology for prosecuting crimes has changed. In 2021, the FBI transitioned to a new crime data collection system – the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) – and discontinued its Summary Reporting System (SRS).

NIBRS reports much more specific crime information than SRS, but law enforcement reporting rates have declined as communities appear to have struggled with the transition.

This has led many crime experts to emphasize that the data is incomplete. According to one analysis, the bureau is missing data from about 20% of major local authorities and the reporting rate fell below 70% in 2021 for the first time in at least two decades.

The Crime Prevention Research Center first pointed out the FBI's quiet adjustment in a story published by RealClearInvestigations.

Jordan and Biggs are demanding all documentation and communications related to the FBI's “process for updating” the data, as well as details of the measures the FBI has taken to keep the public informed of the revision.

The office has until November 21 to share this information and organize a staff meeting on the matter.

In the letter, Jordan and Biggs said they wanted to know what process the FBI uses to update its statistics, details about municipalities' underreporting, how often the bureau has corrected statistics from previous years and what steps were taken to update the data for Ensuring 2023 is accurate.

“The FBI’s failure to be transparent about violent crime data continues to undermine the trust of the American people and raises questions about the agency’s procedures used to track and update the UCR [Uniform Crime Reporting data]“The Republican congressmen added.

“Americans have always known what the FBI is finally reporting: Crime continues to escalate across the country and Americans do not feel safe in their communities.”

The Post contacted the FBI for comment.

Jordan and Biggs' letter to Wray came two days after Trump's victory in the presidential election.

Trump, 78, nominated Wray to a 10-year term as FBI director in 2017, but Republicans in Congress — and Trump himself — have chafed at his leadership throughout the Harris-Biden administration.