Philadelphia violent crime hits 20-year low as Trump says city is suffering

Former President Donald Trump held a rally at Temple University in North Philadelphia on June 23 at which he criticized President Joe Biden on the issue of crime.

“Few communities have suffered more under the Biden regime than Philadelphia. Under Crooked Joe the City of Brotherly Love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime,” said Trump, who was recently convicted on 34 felony criminal counts in New York. (2:38)

But Trump’s allegation paints an inaccurate picture of the situation.

The nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts released a report in April called “Philadelphia 2024: The State of the City.” The report noted that, according to data collected by the Philadelphia Police Department, violent crimes in 2023 were the lowest they had been in a decade. In 2023, there were 14,186 such crimes, reflecting a trend of decline over the past two years. In 2020, Trump’s last full year in office, there were 15,329 violent crimes. 

The number of homicides in Philadelphia has also declined. In 2023, there were 410 murders, down from the previous two years. Pew also reported that the city’s homicide rate per 100,000 residents was down from the previous year.

Property crimes have recently increased.

Trump went on to say the country is in a state of “bedlam and death and terror,” reiterating a message that he and other Republicans have promoted in recent months.

Yet statistics released by the FBI have shown a recent decline in crime across the country.

According to FBI data released June 10 covering the first three months of 2024, violent crime and murder is down from the previous year. Between January and March, violent crime decreased 15.2%, while murder fell 26.4%.

Those declines continue a pattern from 2023, when crime rates were down from previous years.

“This continued historic decline in homicides does not represent abstract statistics. It represents people whose lives were saved — people who are still here to see their children grow up, to work toward fulfilling their dreams, and to contribute to their communities,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement accompanying the FBI release.

In Trump’s last year in office, 2020, homicides across the United States significantly increased. In that year, murders increased 29.4% and were at the highest level the FBI had recorded since the 1990s.

According to the White House, the 2021 American Rescue Plan, which Biden signed into law, included more than $15 billion to be used by local municipalities for public safety and violence prevention. In 2022, Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was the first major federal gun safety legislation enacted in decades.

Trump opposed the Rescue Plan and has discussed undoing gun safety regulation if he is elected in November.