Officials in President Trump’s Justice Department have been scrutinizing crime data in recent months and have found evidence that Democratic politicians have been skewing crime statistics for their own benefit ahead of the midterm elections, The Post has learned.
Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, a vocal opponent of Trump’s use of federal troops for both immigration enforcement and combating crime in major Democratic-run cities, has lately touted double-digit declines in Chicago crime rates. He claimed that “shootings and homicides on our highways are down 60, 70, 80% depending on where you look.”
However, the number of felonies in Chicago—not to mention New York, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon—is declining only because so-called “woke” prosecutors are reducing felonies to less severe charges for political reasons, DOJ sources say.
### Lenient Prosecution Policies Under Scrutiny
A notable example is Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, who has continued to allow violent offenders to plead to misdemeanors instead of felonies despite committing robberies or violent assaults. One Trump DOJ source highlighted the recent case of David Mazariegos, a man wielding a sword who was arrested last week for the allegedly unprovoked killing of straphanger Nicola Tanzi. Mazariegos reportedly stomped Tanzi repeatedly on the head outside a Brooklyn subway station.
Mazariegos has a long criminal record. Yet, this past July—just before his latest alleged violent act—an NYC judge lowered his bail in an assault case because prosecutors did not charge him with a felony and instead settled for a misdemeanor.
People inside the Trump DOJ say Mazariegos isn’t an outlier but rather the norm in big cities controlled by leftist politicians who are deliberately obscuring the real impact of their lax policing policies.
“If these public officials were CEOs who purposely manipulated losses into earnings, they would face serious criminal fraud charges,” said one Trump DOJ official who asked not to be named.
A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. A spokesman for the Manhattan DA did not return a request for comment.
### Exodus from Blue Cities
When the DOJ’s statistics are released—possibly in the coming weeks—they should serve as a wake-up call for the Democratic Party. Big-city economies may continue to sour as more taxpaying residents leave in search of safer places.
Democratic leadership must find the courage to push back against the “woke” policies and policing directives of far-left figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani, who are rising stars within the party.
DOJ sources believe Governor Pritzker’s recent talking points are part of a coordinated effort by national Democrats to conceal the various forms of social decay tied to their support for police defunding measures. These moves are designed to appease social justice advocates who believe law enforcement is inherently racist.
In the meantime, Democrats may hope to reshape public perception enough to win back the House and Senate in the upcoming midterms.
### Crime Trends in New York City
What’s equally unsettling is that even within the distorted stats touted by Democrats, there are significant increases in violent crime when the numbers are viewed in proper context.
For example, the felony statistics in New York City, recently highlighted by Mayor Eric Adams’ Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on the NYPD website, show historic lows in several major crime categories:
– Murders are down citywide by more than 17.7% (241 vs. 293 year-to-date).
– Burglary dropped 3.8% (9,410 vs. 9,783 for the year).
– Felony assault decreased by 0.8% (22,389 vs. 22,580 for the year).
No one doubts that Tisch is well-meaning and has done a commendable job given the difficult circumstances—a crime epidemic that worsened after the 2020 social justice movement, embraced by former mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio had implemented policies, such as banning stop-and-frisk, that prevented police officers from performing their duties effectively.
Even with de Blasio out of office and Adams—a former police officer—in charge of the NYPD, Tisch’s efforts remain hampered. This limitation stems largely from the policies of District Attorney Bragg, who refuses to prosecute criminals like David Mazariegos as violent felons.
### Revealing “Good” Crime Statistics
Meanwhile, Teuta Dedvukaj of Fox Business uncovered evidence that even the “good” crime stats are misleading. By analyzing additional NYPD website data for reported incidents of murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, and grand larceny, Dedvukaj found that these crimes actually increased every year from 2020 to 2023.
Although some decline has been noted in 2024 so far, crime rates remain significantly higher than they were in 2013. That year marked the end of the Giuliani crime crackdown and the final year of Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s administration.
With Zohran Mamdani, known for his strong opposition to law enforcement, poised to become New York City mayor, look for further rises in crime, more residents leaving the city, and mounting evidence that the Democratic Party remains out of touch with reality.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/18/business/trumps-doj-found-evidence-dems-are-skewing-crime-stats-ahead-of-the-midterm-elections/
