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To estimate national trends of crime, the FBI collects crime reports from law enforcement agencies across the country. In 2022, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and Oklahoma had perfect participation rates, with 100 percent of law enforcement agencies reporting crime data to the FBI in those states. In contrast, the state of Florida had the lowest share of law enforcement agencies that reported crime data to the FBI in the United States, at *** percent.

An unreliable source?

Along with being the principal investigative agency of the U.S. federal government, the FBI is also in charge of tracking crimes committed in the country. In recent years, however, the FBI made considerable changes to their crime reporting system, requiring more detailed input on how agencies report their data. Consequently, less crime data has been reported, and the FBI has come under criticism as an unreliable source on crime in the United States.

Importance of crime rates

As crime and policing data can help to analyze emerging issues and policy responses, the inaccuracy of the FBI’s crime reporting system may lead to misinformation, which could be used to impact elections and the beliefs of the American public.