Stumping the FBI?

There was a time, I guess, when the FBI really was a premier investigatory agency. Back when Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. was the agent of the week, every week, on Sunday night. While those days may be long gone, killed by the deadening weight of bureaucracy piled onto political correctness, it remains unfair to blame the Bureau for the superficial and misleading reporting that accompanied the release of the annual crime figures.

The FBI puts out the numbers, the newspinners spin.

The release this week of the FBI's Crime in the United States 2009 proves the point Evan Perez reported in The Wall Street Journal  (paper edition only)

The number of violent crimes reported in 2009 declined for the third-consecutive (sic) year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported, with law-enforcement officials crediting better policing despite cutbacks caused by the weak economy.

Let's leave aside for the moment the police industry's self serving claims

Policing experts attribute lower (crime) rates to a number of factors, from imporved policing tactics to demographic trends.

Even less credible, from the same article

Attorney General Eric Holder said the more than $4 billion the Obama administration steered toward law enforcement in the 2009 economic-stimulus legislation 'helped maintain public safety and encourage new criminal-justice innovations.

I think the Obama administration does deserve some of the credit. After all, it was immeidately after Obama's election that gun sales went through the roof and ammunition sold so rapidly that stores couldn't keep a stock.

In 2009, politically-anxious Americans bought 14 million new guns and 14 billion rounds of ammunition, great motivation for a break from crime.

Proving for the umpteenth time, More guns, less crime.


It's undoubtedly the single best accomplishment of the Obama group. I wonder if they'll claim credit?