Their cite includes the national crime victimization survey which surveys a 100-200 thousand people and asks if they've been a victim of a crime. Theoretically that's independent of anything else and should accurately reflect the true crime rate. But these days I'm not sure how you can get an accurate sample.
That said, I think this somewhat misses the point. Large numbers of cities saw violent disturbances over the last couple years. Anecdotally, I've noticed an increase in street racing and those sorts of general jackassery. Technically I'm not the victim of a violent crime but there definitely seems to be more of an edge to life these days. Understandable that people feel less safe and violent crime technically not going up isn't much solace.
The national clime victimization survey excludes homicides. And even if you’re not the one killed, homicides have ripple impacts across the community. There was a teenager working as a cashier at the lunch place in my office. Really nice kid—I saw him several times a week. He was shot and killed in one of those random shootings that’s all too common in DC, and which became a lot more common since 2020.
That said, I think this somewhat misses the point. Large numbers of cities saw violent disturbances over the last couple years. Anecdotally, I've noticed an increase in street racing and those sorts of general jackassery. Technically I'm not the victim of a violent crime but there definitely seems to be more of an edge to life these days. Understandable that people feel less safe and violent crime technically not going up isn't much solace.