Republicans urge FBI to explain process for updating crime statistics

Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) wrote in a letter to the FBI that they believed the FBI quietly updated its statistics last year to “account for thousands of murders, rapes, and others “Violent Crimes” was originally omitted from the FBI’s crime data.”

“The FBI did not mention this significant data revision in its 2023 violent crime data press release,” Jordan and Biggs wrote.

The FBI provides a complex dashboard of historical crime data based on statistics it collects from local law enforcement agencies across the country. The office regularly summarizes the data in summaries that it publishes annually. This year's summary found that violent crime fell 3% in 2023.

The FBI said last year that violent crime fell 1.7% in 2022; However, Jordan and Biggs said that was not the case.

“The FBI has revised its 2022 data to show that violent crime actually increased by 4.5 percent compared to 2021,” the congressmen wrote, citing a RealClearPolitics Report.

The report noted that the FBI originally reported a decrease in violent crime in 2022, but then updated the data without notifying the public and that the new data reflected an increase in crime.

Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst who blogs about the FBI, recently said that revisions are normal, that the FBI data is incomplete and that despite small percentage variations from year to year, “we can say that the FBI's 2023 estimates are a … sustained small declines in violent crime with a historically large decline in murders.”

“Do the 2022 and 2023 revisions significantly change our understanding of national crime trends? In my opinion not at all,” Asher wrote.

However, Jordan and Biggs noted that the Biden-Harris administration touted the statistics before their revision as a sign that violent crime had improved significantly.

“The initial 2022 data was heralded as a 'historic decline' in crime rates before it was revised,” the Republicans noted.

The FBI declined to comment on the congressman's letter, instead citing a statement about the audit it conducted due to its discrepancies in crime data.

“The FBI stands behind each of our Crime in the Nation publications,” the FBI said. “In 2022, the estimated violent crime rate decreased by 1.7 percent compared to 2021.”

The FBI said it transitioned its crime reporting program to a new data collection system in 2021, moving from using a “traditional summary reporting system” to a “national incident-based reporting system.” The FBI noted that a significant portion of local authorities were initially unable to report their statistics to the FBI, while the transition period to a new reporting system appeared to be difficult.

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The FBI said it soon plans to provide public data updates monthly instead of annually.

“The next phase will see a move to monthly data releases to promote transparency and allow consumers to review data based on more recent crimes, with the understanding that the data will be continually updated,” said the office.