WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Senator Rick Scott hosted a press conference with fellow Republican senators on the dangerous consequences of the Biden-Harris administration’s soft-on-crime policies and border crisis, which have caused violent crime to rise across the United States. While the Biden-Harris administration continues to falsely claim that crime is down, the National Crime Victimization Survey, released by the Department of Justice last Thursday, shows violent crime has actually increased. Violent crime — including rape, robbery and aggravated assault — is up from 5.6 incidents per 1,000 people in 2020 to 8.7 incidents per 1,000 people in 2023. More than 1 in every 44 people reported being the victim of a violent crime in 2023. Robberies rose 52.9% between 2021-2023 under Biden and Harris. Joining Senator Scott at the press conference were Senators John Barrasso, Ron Johnson and Eric Schmitt.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The data is clear: under the failed, soft-on-crime policies of the Biden-Harris administration, violent crime is up all across America and our nation is a more dangerous place. Democrats have campaigned on defunding police, allowed millions of potentially dangerous individuals and tons of deadly drugs to come across our border, and stood by in silence as terrorist sympathizers took over college campuses. These failures have consequences and the American people know Vice President Harris and her friends in the media are lying when they falsely claim that violent crime is down. Recently released DOJ data shows when President Trump was in office, violent crime fell by 15 percent and has since soared by 55 percent under the Biden-Harris administration. I talk to parents every week who tell me they are terrified about the safety of their kids. We have the best law enforcement in the nation working hard every day and putting their lives at risk to keep our communities safe. If Democrats care about our country, they will end their soft-on-crime agenda, shut down the border and stand with America’s law enforcement to keep families safe.”

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