Attorney General Jeff Sessions noted Tuesday that violent crime is down in America — and he says the Trump administration should take credit for it.
“It is a promise that he has kept,” Sessions declared. “Ensuring every neighborhood in America is safe again will take time, but we are already starting to see results.”
In a Tuesday op-ed that appeared in USA Today, Sessions wrote, “It is a promise that he has kept. Ensuring every neighborhood in America is safe again will take time, but we are already starting to see results.”
The attorney general referenced new crime statistics released by the FBI to buttress his claim. The data, from the first half of 2017, demonstrates that rape and robbery were down by 2 percent from the first six months of 2016. In total, violent crime decreased by 0.8 percent.
The murder rate was actually 1.5 percent higher, according to the FBI figures; but, as Sessions notes, the rate of increase has slowed dramatically from previous years.
Sessions said it was evidence that Trump is making good on his goal to stop the “American carnage” that has far-reaching consequences for the nation.
“In the fight against crime, there is a lot at stake. There is even more at stake for communities that are already struggling. In high-crime areas, businesses and jobs leave, property values plummet, and kids have a harder time in school. These sad consequences only lead to a vicious cycle of crime, poverty and more crime,” Sessions wrote.
He said the crime rate will continue to fall because the current administration is committed to pursuing criminal prosecutions and is restoring respect for police forces across America.