evidence: In recent years, headlines have warned of a nationwide spike in crime. Crime data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed a nearly 30% nationwide increase in reported homicides between 2019 and 2020, the single largest year-over-year increase on record. More recent data, albeit incomplete, suggests that the homicide rate in 2023 is on track for the largest year-over-year decline on record. This is hopefully an indicator that the increase in crime isn’t a long-term trend. [...] Second, and perhaps more troubling, the nation lacks a timely source of quality crime statistics. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program is one of the two primary sources of national crime statistics heavily relied upon by journalists, academics, and policy experts. The UCR enables state and local law enforcement agencies to voluntarily submit their crime data to the FBI. Counts of crimes recorded and submitted by law enforcement agencies are then weighted to account for incomplete reporting. Typically, the FBI releases year-end reports covering the previous year; for instance, the crime statistics for 2020 were released in September 2021. This delay in publication, while likely necessary for ensuring accuracy, means we lack a real-time picture of crime at the national level.