AP Fact Check: Crime stats don't back Trump's dire view

Not a big deal, but I think some are missing the point - he's talking specifically about a recent homicide spike in major cities. It's a bigger deal than some may realize and has many looking at this: FBI, criminologists, law enforcement agencies, Obama administration, and so on.

This is a New York Times article back in May and a couple of excerpts:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/us/murder-rates-cities-fbi.html

White House:

The White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, said that the increase in homicides in some cities was a concern and that the administration had already taken steps to address it, including a roundup by the Marshals Service last year of some 8,000 fugitives.

Random criminologist:

...homicide rates last year indicated that the public focus on police use-of-force incidents might have had some role in the increase in homicides.....

FBI Director Comey:

*Mr. Comey said that a string of videos that went viral on the Internet had led some officers to become reluctant to confront suspects. He conceded that he was operating off anecdotal evidence, but such reluctance, he said, could be contributing to the increase in homicides *

The heroin epidemic, a resurgence in gang violence and economic factors in some cities were all offered as explanations........

/r/politics Thread Parent Link - bigstory.ap.org