Myths and Facts About Crime and Justice Reform

Data does not support claims that the United States is experiencing a surge in crime caused by immigrants.

Attempts to cast doubt on the reliability of the numbers don’t hold up.

There is no clear relationship between pro-reform prosecutors and increased crime.

Despite spikes in some cities, crime data doesn’t show a nationwide increase in shoplifting and other forms of retail theft.

Public safety and fairness are not competing interests.

The best available data finds that changes in bail policy don’t affect crime rates.

The former president took the stage at CPAC to paint a bleak and highly misleading portrait of crime and public safety.

The recent rise in crime is extraordinarily complex. Policymakers and the public should not jump to conclusions or expect easy answers.

While the original law severely limited the use of money bail and jail in many lower-level cases, later revisions carved out significant exceptions.

There is no clear connection between recent crime increases and the bail reform law enacted in 2019.

Preliminary FBI data, however imperfect, confirms a sharp downward trend in crime, undercutting attempts to blame criminal justice reform for pandemic-era spikes in violence.

The annual breakdown of crime statistics offered some encouraging signs after 2020’s sharp rise in violence.