What the data says about crime in the U.S.

A growing share of Americans say reducing crime should be a top priority for the president and Congress to address this year. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults (58%) hold that view today, up from 47% at the beginning of Joe Biden’s presidency in 2021.How we did thisWe conducted this analysis to learn more about U.S. crime patterns and how those patterns have changed over time.The analysis relies on statistics published by the FBI, which we accessed through the Crime Data Explorer, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), which we accessed through theNational Crime Victimization Survey data analysis tool.To measure public attitudes about crime in the U.S., we relied on survey data from Pew Research Center and Gallup.Additional details about each data source, including survey methodologies, are available by following the links in the text of this analysis.With the issue likely to come up in this year’s presidential election, here’s what we know about crime in the United States, based on t...