Violent crime decreased in U.S. in 2022: FBI

Violent crime decreased in the United States last year to pre-pandemic levels while property crime increased sharply, the FBI said in a report released on Monday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in an annual report, said violent crime nationwide fell by 1.7 percent in 2022 compared with the previous year.

Murder and manslaughter cases were down 6.1 percent after rising in the previous two years, the FBI said, and the number of reported rape cases dropped 5.4 percent.

Aggravated assault decreased by 1.1 percent, but robbery was up by 1.3 percent.

Property crimes -- mainly car-jackings and theft -- were up 7.1 percent.

The FBI also reported hate crime statistics for last year -- incidents involving race, religion and sexual-orientation.

Hate crimes rose by less than one percent last year over the previous year, with anti-Black, anti-Jewish and anti-gay male incidents topping each category.

The hate crime statistics drew the attention of the White House, which noted that anti-Semitic hate crimes rose 25 percent in 2022 to account for over half of all reported religion-based hate crimes.

"The data is a reminder that hate never goes away, it only hides," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "Any hate crime is a stain on the soul of America."

Biden said that following the Hamas attack on Israel, he had asked government agencies "to prioritize the prevention and disruption of any emerging threats that could harm Jewish, Muslim, Arab American, or any other communities."

On Sunday, Biden condemned the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian Muslim boy and the wounding of his mother by their landlord in Illinois, calling it a "horrific act of hate."