How Crime Statistics Are Being Distorted Across America
Systemic Misclassification Is Inflating “White” Crime Numbers and Masking the True Scope of Criminal Activity
Recent investigations and social media reporting have exposed a troubling pattern in the way crime statistics are recorded and presented in the United States.
Whistleblowers like Matt Van Swol have revealed that, in various jurisdictions, Hispanic and other non-White individuals who are arrested are regularly categorized as “White” in official criminal databases.
This misclassification not only misrepresents demographic crime data but also fuels division and misinformation in public debates about crime and race.
For example, posts from Matt Van Swol on X highlight cases where every Hispanic arrest in his county has been labeled as “White,” raising significant questions about the integrity of crime reporting processes.
These revelations echo broader critiques within law enforcement and reporting agencies.
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system has a history of categorizing Hispanics as “White,” potentially inflating White crime statistics.
A 2025 National Council of La Raza study concluded that poor ethnic documentation at intake could skew crime data by 20–30% in some regions.
Investigative journalism further underscores systemic problems at the highest levels.
In Washington, D.C., the Justice Department and the U.S. attorney’s office are probing whether local police manipulated crime statistics—potentially under political pressure from the Trump administration—to create an artificially low crime rate.
Officers have alleged that serious offenses are routinely downgraded in reports, masking the reality on the ground and undermining public safety.
These practices are not isolated to any one region.
Congressional oversight committees have demanded transparency from agencies like the FBI after recent, quietly revised national crime data suggested a discrepancy of several percentage points in violent crime trends, leading to bipartisan concerns about politically motivated data manipulation.
Experts and advocates are calling for major reforms in crime data collection, pushing for improved transparency and more accurate racial and ethnic categorization.
Without such changes, official statistics will continue to misrepresent the scope of criminal activity and inadvertently perpetuate misleading narratives about crime and race in the United States.
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