The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released its annual crime statistics report. There hasn’t been much media coverage of the report, but it does show the violent crime rate in 2018 was at its second-lowest point since this particular crime metric peaked in 1991. Generally, crime rates fell across the board compared to 2017.

Perhaps one of the most misleading comments in the past few years is that the United States is seeing a new crime wave develop. Politicians who have long pushed for lengthier prison sentences seized on increases in violent crime and homicides in 2015 and 2016 as justification to oppose legislation in Congress that would bring rehabilitative programming designed to reduce recidivism to federal prisons and modestly reform federal sentencing laws.

Today, President Trump announced his choice for the new leader of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). While his choice of candidate has generally been well received by commentators on both side of the isle it is unlikely he will implement the needed reforms to the FBI. While Jim Comey and the FBI have been grabbing headlines over the past year, few pundits, or politicians are seriously talking about the true threat surrounding the national police force.

Engineers at Apple are drawing a line in the sand. According to The Hill, multiple employees of the company have stated that they will outright refuse to comply with orders from the FBI to weaken iPhone security, should the agency prevail in an ongoing court battle. For some, this would mean resigning from the company, for others, simply declining to write specific code, whatever the cost may be to their professional futures.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey signaled support for Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, calling the bill "reasonable." The legislation, which would expand the existing federal "safety valve" exception to mandatory minimum sentences, was approved by the committee in October and is awaiting action before the full Senate, which could happen in early 2016. In early November, FreedomWorks released a letter of support for the bill.

The national violent crime rate continued to decline in 2014, according to data released on Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The decline is part of trend dating back to the 1990's and researchers at the Brennan Center for Justice have attributed it to various socio-economic factors, including "growth in income and an aging population."

Media reports are stoking fears of a sharp rise in homicides in some cities in the United States. This has been used by some to advance the notion that crime is rising across the country. In fact, violent crime rates are at historic lows, according to the most recently available data, and there is no indication that there is a concerning national trend developing.

The Inspector General of the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed in a report released on Thursday that spying powers claimed under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act has "not identified any major case developments" through the controversial statue. The report covers a three-year period between 2007 through 2009 and notes that the nation's top domestic law enforcement agency tripled its use of Section 215 requests beginning in 2004.