Dr. John Lott appeared on “Full Measure” with Sharyl Attkisson last month to break down how crime statistics are being manipulated for political narratives.
Whether it’s violent crime rates reported by the FBI or crimes committed by illegal immigrants, Lott argues that the numbers are being distorted to shape public perception.
Table of contents
FBI Data vs. Reality
Lott pointed out that since 2021, police departments have been reporting far less crime data to the FBI due to a new system. Before the change, 97% of departments submitted crime reports—but by 2022, less than half were reporting complete data. Instead of acknowledging this gap, the FBI estimates missing crime data, leading to questionable conclusions.
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According to FBI-reported crime trends, violent crime appears to have peaked in 2020 and declined afterward. But Lott noted that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) homicide data shows the opposite, with 2022 numbers exceeding 2020 levels. The discrepancy raises concerns about how crime is actually being tracked.
Unreported Crimes Are Rising
Lott also highlighted a sharp increase in crimes not reported to police. The National Crime Victimization Survey—which surveys individuals rather than relying on police reports—showed a 42% jump in violent crime for 2022, even as FBI-reported violent crime “declined” by 2%.
Lott attributes this to a collapse in law enforcement—from declining police forces to policies that discourage arrests and prosecutions. He pointed to a 55% drop in arrests for violent crimes and a 65% drop in arrests for property crimes in large cities since 2020. With fewer officers, fewer arrests, and more crime going unreported, the “declining crime” narrative becomes suspect.
Illegal Immigration & Crime Data Suppression
Lott also challenged the widely repeated claim that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S. citizens. He explained that data separating legal and illegal immigrants is rarely collected and, when it is, illegal immigrants show significantly higher violent crime rates. He believes the push to obscure crime data is politically motivated, particularly to downplay concerns about illegal immigration’s impact on crime rates.
The Bottom Line
Lott argues that crime isn’t decreasing—it’s just being counted differently. Underreported crime, missing police data, and selective government statistics are shaping public perception rather than reflecting reality. His analysis raises important questions about how political interests influence what data is collected, reported, and ultimately believed.
Hopefully, things change under the Trump administration.
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John Lott’s data has been debunked by all of the serious Data surveys. Lott was even caught on Facebook posing as a fake person that was praising his own work.
Quote—————–Lott also challenged the widely repeated claim that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S. citizens. He explained that data separating legal and illegal immigrants is rarely collected and, ———-qote
Lott has no data to support his wild claims which is usually the case with most of his deceiving and false reporting. When illegal immigrants commit crime it is indeed reported and usually ends up on the major news media outlets proving beyond all doubt that Lott is merely fanning the flames of the usual Far Right Wing racism and xenophobia.
Disputed survey
In the course of a dispute with Otis Dudley Duncan in 1999–2000,[48][49] Lott claimed to have undertaken a national survey of 2,424 respondents in 1997, the results of which were the source for claims he had made beginning in 1997.[49] However, in 2000 Lott was unable to produce the data or any records showing that the survey had been undertaken. He said the 1997 hard drive crash that had affected several projects with co-authors had destroyed his survey data set,[50] the original tally sheets had been abandoned with other personal property in his move from Chicago to Yale, and he could not recall the names of any of the students who he said had worked on it. Critics questioned whether the survey had ever taken place,[51] but Lott defends the survey’s existence and accuracy.[52]
Mary Rosh persona
In response to the dispute surrounding the missing survey, Lott used a sock puppet by the name of “Mary Rosh” to defend his own works on Usenet and elsewhere. After investigative work by libertarian blogger Julian Sanchez, Lott admitted to using the Mary Rosh persona.[51]
Further accusations claimed that Lott praised himself while posing as one of his former students[53][54] and that “Rosh” was used to post a favorable review of More Guns, Less Crime on Amazon.com. Lott has claimed that the review was written by his son and wife.[54] “I probably shouldn’t have done it—I know I shouldn’t have done it—but it’s hard to think of any big advantage I got except to be able to comment fictitiously,” Lott told The Washington Post in 2003.[54]
Maybe Kash Patel will fix the reporting system?
when sniffy, sloppy Joe Obiden’s truth is all about the Trans Parents, See? do NOT expect it to be accurate. lying demon-rats love to lie