US Crime and Safety

Research, Summary, and Editorial

Crimes and Safety

Property and Violent Crime Rates

One of the most persistent falsehoods pushed by Trump and Republicans is the claim that crime in the United States has been spiraling out of control — that the country has become “unsafe” because of immigration and Democratic governance.

The evidence tells a very different story. National crime data show a long, steady decline in both violent and property crime beginning in the late 1980s. Since George H. W. Bush took office in 1989, every administration — Republican and Democratic — has overseen continued reductions in crime. The trend is broad, consistent, and well‑documented, and it directly contradicts the narrative of a nation descending into lawlessness.

Change in Violent Crime Rates by Presidential Term

Republicans blast Democrats about how unsafe our nation is, yet the data paint a very different picture. While violent crime has been falling for nearly four decades, the greatest reductions have occurred during Democratic administrations.