Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

Mark Twain said: “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” Nowhere is this truer than with the statistics the Biden/Garland Department of Justice inflicts on us. Were we to believe what Joe Biden said during the recent debate, the Trump years represented an all-time high of violent crime, but under his enlightened leadership, violent crime has dramatically declined. The FBI/DOJ, and of course the Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) media all say the same.

They’re also telling us we have the best economy ever, inflation isn’t bad at all and the border is secure. As Twain said: statistics. The idea crime is under control is a particularly hard sell in blue state cities, where residents have learned to trust reality rather than political pronouncements, though they still tend to vote for the politicians that lie to them.

A primary source of government crime statistic is the FBI Uniform Crime Report. Unfortunately, the FBI is a politicized, weaponized arm of the D/s/c Party, and while its current stats would seem to suggest crime rates have dramatically dropped thanks to Joe Biden, they’re not telling you the whole truth. This graph from agentmax tells more of the whole story:

The implication is that while crime isn’t getting any worse, it not only remains quite high relative to the developed world, it’s probably not going to get any better than it already is, given present trends, demographics, and the deteriorating internal situation. That’s a different discussion altogether, but my point is that the history of crime in America for the last 50 years has been one of “violent” versus “more violent.”

In other words, anyone telling you crime rates have dramatically declined and they’re responsible is lying to you. There are additional factors virtually all the fault of D/s/cs, that contribute to the deception:

*Police agencies, particularly those in blue cities, have badly depleted their ranks. Fewer, and badly overworked and stressed, cops mean fewer arrests so less apparent crime. Many cops across the nation, reasonably fearing for their jobs and liberty if they lawfully do their jobs, also avoid making arrests, particularly of criminals in favored victim groups who tend to commit most crimes.

*Particularly in larger, blue cities, the few police remaining have stopped answering all but the most horrific 911 calls, and they can’t answer many of those. Citizens, adapting as best they can, have stopped reporting most crimes. Since large, blue cities tend to produce the most crime statistics of all kinds, this factor can’t be overlooked.

*In recent years, many cities—most blue—have stopped reporting crimes to the FBI. No reports, no crimes. Circa 2024, as many as 7000 agencies are keeping that sort of information to themselves. The graph illustrates where most of that lack of reporting occurs. Notice it’s largely in major population centers. In 2022 even Wyoming’s first and second largest towns didn’t report, but those numbers, compared to California and NYC, are tiny.

Why would cities/counties want to withhold that kind of information? Politics. It’s easier to lie to the public about the wonders of your policies – particularly illegal migrant crime – when they have no access to reliable information to discover the truth for themselves.

One area where the FBI’s data seems to be more reflective of reality is in so called “mass shootings.” Most government talking points come from the Gun Violence Archive, very much an anti-liberty/gun organization. Here’s how they present Twain’s “statistics:

GVA’s “mass shootings” criteria is all events where four or more people are injured in a shooting. These incidents are often drug gang attacks and the like—not at all what Americans think of as mass shootings. In fact, they would include a botched arrest where two cops and two suspects are shot, and even self-defense shootings! By their criteria, they reported 656 mass shootings in 2023.

Surprisingly, the FBI’s criteria are, surprisingly, far more rational and accurate:

The FBI, on the other hand, classifies an “active shooter” how most Americans likely envision it—“an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” By the FBI’s count, there were 48 active shooter incidents in 2023, only about 7% of the total reported by GVA and constantly regurgitated by politicians and the press.

Here are some facts anti-liberty/gun cracktivists don’t want you to know. About 17% of the 48 happened in California, gun control paradise. But in 2023, 22 of the 30 Constitutional Carry states had only one, or no active shooter attacks.

Particularly where government is involved, it pays to do independent research.

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This article (Lies, damned lies and statistics) was published by American Thinker and is republished here on TLB under “Fair Use” (see posted disclaimer below) with attribution to the original articles author Mike McDaniel and americanthinker.com.

TLB recommends you visit American Thinker for more great articles and information.

About the Author: Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor and retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.

Image Credit: Photo (cropped) in Featured Image (top) – Pixabay License.

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