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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years’

D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years’

While signing executive orders at the White House on Aug. 25, President Donald Trump wrongly said that an 11-day span of no homicides in Washington, D.C., was the “first time that’s taken place in years,” a claim reiterated by other members of the administration who credited Trump’s federal takeover of the district’s law enforcement.

Assessing Claims About the Reliability of D.C. Crime Data

Assessing Claims About the Reliability of D.C. Crime Data

The Trump administration has accused the Washington, D.C., police department of reporting “phony crime stats” and “cooking the books,” citing the suspension of a police commander for allegedly altering crime data. The U.S. attorney’s office in the district reportedly opened an investigation into whether city officials had manipulated crime statistics. Here’s what we know about the allegations.

Trump Now Citing Murder Stats He Used to Dismiss as ‘Fake News’

Trump Now Citing Murder Stats He Used to Dismiss as ‘Fake News’

President Donald Trump recently boasted that the nation’s murder rate has “plummeted by 28%” since he took office. Data supplied by local police departments do show the nation’s murder rate is dropping, as it has been for several years. Notably, Trump now seems comfortable with crime data that he criticized repeatedly during the campaign as “fake news.”

Vance’s Misleading Claim About Immigrants and Murders in Springfield, Ohio

Vance’s Misleading Claim About Immigrants and Murders in Springfield, Ohio

Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, circulated a baseless rumor on social media that the residents of Springfield, Ohio, “have had their pets abducted and eaten by” immigrants. Now, Vance has cherry-picked data to make the unfounded claim that immigrants are responsible for an 81% increase in the city’s murders.

The Facts on Manhattan Crime

The Facts on Manhattan Crime

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee plans to hold a “field hearing” in Manhattan on April 17 to draw attention to “how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime.” Experts told us it was unlikely Bragg had or could have an impact on crime trends, and crime data for Manhattan don’t match the GOP narrative.

Fetterman’s Commutation Vote on Convicted Murderer

Fetterman’s Commutation Vote on Convicted Murderer

A Republican super PAC’s ad labels Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman “dangerously liberal on crime,” citing a case in which Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, voted to recommend the commutation of a life sentence for a man convicted of murder in 1970. We thought readers may want to know more of the context of the case.

Giuliani’s Misleading Attack on de Blasio and Crime

Giuliani’s Misleading Attack on de Blasio and Crime

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani misleadingly contrasted his mayoral record on crime with a recent spike in murders under Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, citing the uptick as evidence that Democratic mayors are “a danger to their people.”

Trump’s Misleading L.A. Story

Trump’s Misleading L.A. Story

President Donald Trump claimed that federal immigration officials asked the Los Angeles Police Department in January to detain an “illegal immigrant,” but the police “let him go, and he killed somebody.” That’s not how it happened.

Trump Wrong on Murder Rate

Trump Wrong on Murder Rate

Donald Trump said that the murder rate in the U.S. is the “highest it’s been in 45 years” and “the press never talks about it.” The press doesn’t talk about it because Trump’s claim is wildly inaccurate.

Trump Retweets Bogus Crime Graphic

Trump Retweets Bogus Crime Graphic

Trump retweeted a bogus graphic purporting to show the percentage of whites killed by blacks and other homicide data delineated by race. Almost every figure in the graphic is wrong.