Posted on 10/02/2025 12:42:47 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Three years ago, RealClearInvestigations reported that the FBI was undercounting the number of armed civilians who had thwarted active shooters by a factor of three.
Even though the FBI acknowledged the issue at the time, it never corrected the error involving the politically fraught issue. In the years since, the problem has only gotten worse. Since RCI’s 2022 article, the FBI has acknowledged just three additional incidents of armed good Samaritans stopping active shooters from 2022 to 2024, and none in the last two years. In contrast, the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), which I head, has documented 78 such cases over that same period – a 26-fold difference.
The discrepancy highlights systemic problems in the nation’s record-keeping regarding the politically potent issue of crime and safety. The refusal of many local jurisdictions, including Chicago, Maricopa County, Arizona, and New Orleans, to provide accurate crime data to the FBI has long made comparisons with many cities unreliable. The ongoing Justice Department investigation into whether Washington D.C. police falsified crime rates to create a “false illusion of safety” may provide more evidence to distrust the numbers that local authorities submit.
The FBI has the ability to set the record straight in at least some cases, providing a clearer view of remedies to crime. But its unwillingness to correct errors – or its efforts to fix them on the sly, as RCI reported last year – and improve its methodology raises more concerns. Its shortcomings regarding armed citizens thwarting active shooters illuminate many of these problems.
“It is understandable that the FBI or those they hire to compile cases might miss some,” said Carl Moody, a crime researcher at the College of William & Mary. “I don’t understand why the FBI never corrects overlooked or misidentified active...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearinvestigations.com ...
The FBI overlooks valid cases because they are not on your side. State and local PD too. I have one example of my own. I wonder how many others do too.
And all along I have been thinking that the director of the FBI is on Trump’s GOOD GUY list.....
Can’t be allowing things to be reported that might diminish your need and budgets. Works at the state and local level too... have to have crime for cha-ching.
thank God for the truth and for John Lott.
Bondi and Patel need to go. They have not cleaned house like RFK, Hegseth & Tulsi have done.
100%
I think they only count it if the armed citizen kills the perp. If he just surrenders or is wounded, it’s not included. Dumb.
Fact: Guns prevent an estimated 2.5 million crimes a year or 6,849 every day. Most often, the gun is never fired and no blood (including the criminal’s) is shed.
Source: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/7.1/Gun-Facts-7.1-screen.pdf, page 21.
Fact: A victim may have a strong reluctance to talk to a government agent about a firearm brandishing incident (which are 98% of DGUs) because they may not know the act was 100% legal.
Source: http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/7.1/Gun-Facts-7.1-screen.pdf, page 83.
Can’t admit that armed citizens are a net positive.
Amazingly, 3 folks raised their hands.
The first was a veterinarian who was called out for an evening house call for a sick horse. When he arrived, there was no patient, just some seedy looking guys in a van who approached him with handheld weapons of some kind (knives, bats, I forget). The veterinarian displayed his pistol, the bad guys drove off. Likely they were after drugs.
The second was a guy hiking alone in the Sierra foothills who encountered a hiker going the opposite way. The bad guy produced a knife, the good guy produced a guy, bad guy took off running.
Third case was similar, in the Sierras, a guy was seated and approached by a couple of bad guys (IIRC armed w knives). Good guy produced his legally carried pistol, bad guys fled.
Some similarities... The mere sight of a (legally carried) pistol was sufficient to stop the threats, in all cases. Also, and this is key, in all three cases, none reported the events. Nobody wanted the paperwork and hassels.
John Lott used to be a FReeper.
good to know. yet another badge of honor for FR.
i can’t prove it, but over decades now, i think humble FR has played an oversize role in the long twilight battle to save America from the great powers who will her demise. many unknown and little known patriots seem to have crossed its threshold and contributed here.
John Lott
Tony Snow
Steven Crowder
Alfonzo Rachel
Those are just off of memory after my over quarter century of being here.
There’s likely more, and more who just lurk and never comment.
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