evidence: In 2021, the FBI required police departments to report data using a new system. That year, data for about 65% of the U.S. population was covered in the FBI’s annual report, rather than the typical 95%. However, as is standard FBI policy, the missing data was estimated using comparable jurisdictions. In 2022, the FBI’s data coverage returned to 94% of the population, and the preliminary numbers for 2023 and 2024 signal that that level of police department participation should continue. The FBI data’s trend lines have generally tracked the patterns in data compiled by other groups — groups that were not affected by the FBI’s methodological switch.