Drop in violent crime is ‘no accident,’ Biden says

President Biden touted the new FBI crime data released Monday, saying that the drop in violent crime is “no accident.”

The FBI released new preliminary numbers on violent crime for the first quarter of 2024 on Monday, showing that violent crime overall decreased by 15 percent. Biden boasted about these numbers in a statement, saying violent crime “is dropping at record levels.”

“This progress we’re seeing is no accident. My Administration is putting more cops on the beat, holding violent criminals accountable, and getting illegal guns off the street — and we are doing it in partnership with communities. As a result, Americans are safer today than when I took office,” Biden said in the statement.

Murders dropped by 26 percent, and robberies dropped by about 18 percent, according to the FBI data. Biden said his administration has “got to work protecting the American people,” saying that the American Rescue Plan has “delivered $15 billion to cities to hire and retain more cops and keep communities safe.”

“I took on the gun lobby and signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, the most significant gun violence legislation in nearly 30 years,” Biden said.

“But there is more to do. I will continue fighting for funding for 100,000 additional police officers, and 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 so much more work to do, and that the progress we have seen can still easily slip away. So, we will continue to deploy our technological and prosecutorial resources to identify and prosecute the principal drivers of gun violence,” he said.