The same day that President Donald Trump signed three executive orders pertaining to crime reduction, Jeff Sessions kicked off his first day as U.S. attorney general by presenting the nation with some alternative facts.
“We have a crime problem,” Sessions said. “I wish the rise we were seeing in crime in American today were a blip. My best judgment, having been involved in criminal law enforcement for many years, is that this is a dangerous permanent trend.”
While 2015 did see the first national uptick in violent crime since 2006, the trend has otherwise been mostly on the decline, FBI data shows. And some cities, notably Chicago, have seen an increase in crime rates, but this does not align with the national trend.
