FBI 2023 crime data news release doesn't mention 2022 violent crime data was revised higher: Report

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2023 crime data news release did not mention that the violent crime rate was adjusted in 2022 after the initial data was released, wrote John R. Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, in a RealClearPolitics investigative report on Wednesday.

In September 2023, the FBI reported that the nation’s violent crime rate fell by 2.1% but the FBI "quietly revised those numbers, releasing new data that shows violent crime increased in 2022 by 4.5%," according to RealClearPolitics.

Lott wrote that the FBI website that states that the 2022 "violent crime rate has been updated for inclusion in CIUS, 2023.” 

The revised data, however, was not specifically noted in the bureau's September 2024 press release about 2023 crime statistics.

Lott's report noted that top Democrats such as Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, continue to argue publicly that violent crime went down in 2022 despite the revised figures.