President Biden praised new FBI crime data released Monday, saying the drop in violent crime is “no accident.”
The FBI released new preliminary violent crime numbers for the first quarter of 2024 on Monday, showing that overall violent crime is down 15%. Biden boasted about these numbers in a statement, saying that violent crime “is falling to record levels.”
“This progress we are seeing is not accidental. My administration is putting more police officers on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and taking illegal guns off the streets – and we’re doing it in partnership with communities. As a result, Americans are safer today than when I took office,” Biden said in the statement.
Murders fell 26% and robberies fell about 18%, according to FBI data. Biden said his administration “must work to protect the American people,” saying the American Rescue Plan “delivered $15 billion to cities to hire and retain more police and keep communities safe.”
“I stood up to the gun lobby and signed into law the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years,” Biden said.
“But there is more to do. I will continue to fight for funding for 100,000 additional police officers and for crime prevention and community violence intervention programs. Every American deserves to feel safe in their community – which is why I will continue to invest in public safety,” he said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland also emphasized that there is room for improvement in a statement on Monday.
“We know there is much more work to do and that the progress we have seen could easily disappear. Therefore, we will continue to use our technological and judicial resources to identify and prosecute the main drivers of gun violence,” he said.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
