WASHINGTON— Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its long-awaited report on crime across the country in 2021. Cully Stimson, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and Zack Smith, legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, released the following statement on the shocking numbers contained in the report:
“Every American deserves to live in a community that is safe and allows its citizens to thrive. However, considering the left’s push to defund and demoralize the police, and the soft-on-crime agenda of rogue prosecutors across our country that refuse to prosecute entire categories of crime, it’s no wonder violent crime in the United States has continued its steady climb with no sign of stopping.
“The FBI report provided data on over 11 million criminal offenses committed in 2021, but that number is an undercount of the total number of crimes committed. Out of more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the country, the FBI only received data from approximately 9,800 of them. As a result, these 2021 stats fail to fully capture the crime wave that has erupted in cities that have elected rogue prosecutors and/or defunded the police.
“Despite this incomplete data set, the FBI’s numbers still showcase an alarming increase in violent crime, showing a 5.6% increase over the already high 2020 levels. Murders increased 4.3% from 2020.
“In only four years, the number of Chicagoans who were shot equaled more than half of the total number of troops wounded in action in Afghanistan over a 13-year period between October 2001 and December 2014. These numbers are shameful. And it’s even more shameful that these numbers continue to increase year over year. Rogue prosecutors bear significant blame for this crime spree and the increasing lawlessness in our streets. If that is their goal, they are certainly succeeding.
“The criminal justice system must enforce our laws, prosecute criminals, and ensure public safety. That is why lawmakers at all levels must empower law enforcement and prosecutors to do their jobs and investigate, arrest, and prosecute lawbreakers.”
