Statement from President Joe Biden on Record Decrease in Crime in 2023

Across America, families want the same thing: the freedom to feel safe in their community. To know their kids are secure. My Administration is making it a reality. This week, the FBI released data showing that crime declined across nearly every category in 2023. Last year, we also had one of the lowest rates of all violent crime in more than 50 years and the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history. That’s good news for the American people.

In 2020, before I took office, the prior administration oversaw the largest increase in murders ever recorded. My Administration got to work on day one to fix that. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which every Republican in Congress voted against, we made the largest-ever federal investment in fighting and preventing crime at any time in our history. That enabled cities and states to invest $15 billion in public safety. This record investment in crime reduction – in community violence intervention, mental health and additional officers – is delivering results. It is keeping law enforcement on the beat, and keeping communities safe from violence. My Administration is also taking on the crisis of gun violence head on, with more executive actions on gun violence than any President in history and signing the most significant law to address gun violence in almost 30 years.

Keeping communities safe is my priority. While we’ve made major progress, we still have more work to do. That’s why I’ll keep fighting to make more investments in preventing crime, to fund additional accountable police officers to ensure trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and to ban assault weapons to keep guns out of dangerous hands – and I will continue to urge Republicans in Congress to join me.

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