CBS took what by any interpretation is good news, the FBI reporting a 4.5% reduction in violent crime, and almost turned it into a negative story, as if the former Tiffany Network were mad about a reduction in crime. This bizarre stretch of reporting ended with a CBS crime producer recycling a familiar leftist mantra.
Watch as Dubois and Senior Coordinating Producer for Crime and Public Safety, Anna Schecter land on a familiar culprit for officer shootings: lawful gun owners to close out their interview segment on CBS Evening News Plus:
MAURICE DuBOIS: One thing the FBI did note, there has been an increase in the number of officers shot in the line of duty, despite all this data coming down. What do you make of that?
SCHECTER: That's right. It's something that we're looking at. And we are- we've actually been working with the FBI as they are trying to find out why police officers are getting shot in the line of duty at a higher number, higher rate. Also ambushed, specifically ambushed. So we've been doing a lot of reporting on that recently. You know, I think this comes down to an armed civilian population. More people have guns, and that has resulted in a higher rate of police officers shot.
DuBOIS: Okay. Thanks for the insight. Anna Schecter. Appreciate it.
SCHECTER: Of course.
Coverage of the FBI report spanned across both of CBS’s newscast offerings. The broadcast CBS Evening News led off with the report, with Maurice DuBois framing the report as disconnected to perception:
DuBOIS: The numbers may not seem to sync up with the images you see day after day on your television, but the FBI reported today that crime in this country is falling in every major category, including murder. Nationwide last year, violent crime fell 4.5%. Murder alone was down 15%.
This opening frame led to a report by Ash-har Quraishi from his native Chicago, on what undergirded some of the changes cited in the FBI report. The Chicago Police Superintendent discussed some of the reforms that may have contributed to these changes, despite there still being 1,000 shootings year-to-date.
Spoiler alert: none of those changes involve putting social workers on domestic violence cases or defunding the police. The CPD instead attributed the reduction in crime to a combination of technology with greater street-level presence.
Over on Plus, it was a different matter. First, the sense of grievance over how the general public is feeling about crime:
DuBOIS: The data is one thing, but people report that they feel that violent crime is everywhere and is up. Politicians seize on that and fan those flames. What's your sense as to why people feel that way versus this data?
SCHECTER: Well, there are such high profile crimes that we are all covering and that get flown around and thrown around in the political rhetoric. So a lot, especially in the last year, this has been a really hot topic.
And they never really address why this is. Factors such as the ongoing mental health crisis, lax bail laws that allow repeat offenders to hit the streets in blue cities and states, are never mentioned. Also never mentioned: a border invasion that allowed untold numbers of criminal illegal aliens to swarm into the country and commit all sorts of heinous crimes.
And the segment closes out, of course, with Schecter scapegoating lawful gun owners. Gun ownership has always been a part of America and her history. High crime has not, and we are best served by examining why that is.
Overall, a reasonable viewer could watch these segments and determine that CBS approached these items from a place of outrage and resentment that public safety was as prominent an issue as it was in 2024.
Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned segments, as aired on Tuesday, August 5th, 2025:
CBS EVENING NEWS
8/5/25
6:30 PM
MAURICE DuBOIS: The numbers may not seem to sync up with the images you see day after day on your television, but the FBI reported today that crime in this country is falling in every major category, including murder. Nationwide last year, violent crime fell 4.5%. Murder alone was down 15%. It's even down in Chicago, the city whose weekend gun death count often led the national news. Ash-har Quraishi is there tonight and Ash-har, what is behind these numbers?
ASH-HAR QURAISHI: Maurice, as you mentioned, Chicago has had violent stretches, including during the pandemic, but as we learn from the police superintendent today, like many cities across the country, if you look closely at the crime numbers, there is reason to be optimistic.
JASHAWN HILL: I think we are really onto something.
QURAISHI: Jashawn Hill runs Chicago Survivors, a group that counsels families of homicide victims. At the height of the pandemic in 2021, her nonprofit was operating in a city where more than 800 people were murdered.
HILL: I don't have the same sense of anxiety about how many homicides they are going to have this weekend.
QURAISHI: Now murders in Chicago have fallen more than 30% from the same time last year. Homicides have also dropped significantly in major cities such as Philadelphia and Los Angeles. As far as violent crime is concerned, do you feel like you are seeing that drop?
HILL: We've seen it in the lane of homicide, for sure.
QURAISHI: It's not just homicides. The FBI says robberies decreased by nearly 9% and auto theft dropped by more than 18%.
LARRY SNELLING: We keep the city as safe as possible.
QURAISHI: As for the why, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told us better relations between his cops and the community, along with expanded camera and surveillance technology, have helped his officers on the beat.
SNELLING: Gathering video footage helps us identify those who have offended. It helps us identify vehicles that may have been used in a particular crime.
QURAISHI: What do you think is driving that drop in crime?
SNELLING: We have people who are more willing to give us information now than we've had in the past, and it's been truly helpful.
QURAISHI: There's still a disconnect among people who live here about whether crime is going down.
Why do you think that perception exists amongst people who live here, even?
SNELLING: I think we, as a city, have to do a much better job of communicating that out. And the high visibility, especially from our officers, making sure that our officers are out there walking and talking with community members so that they understand that we are right there with them.
QURAISHI: In Chicago so far this year, more than 1,000 people have been shot. There have been 240 homicides. Still, Snelling says his officers feel confident the tide is turning.
SNELLING: Morale rises. Officers feel much better about their jobs. They feel much better about what they're doing. And they communicate a lot better.
DuBOIS: So Ash-har, beyond Chicago, why is crime down nationwide?
QURAISHI: Well, we asked the FBI that exact question. They say it would be difficult, if not impossible, to give a reason that would be universal across the country. They say every department would have a different answer as to why these numbers are dropping.
DuBOIS: Good to get good news here tonight. Is there anything concerning in the FBI report?
QURAISHI: Right, well, we are seeing positive trends in terms of these drops across the board. During a three-year period, there was an increase in the number of police officers shot in the line of duty. Maurice.
DuBOIS: Okay. Ash-har Qureishi in Chicago tonight. Thank you.
CBS EVENING NEWS PLUS
8/5/25
7:20 PM
MAURICE DuBOIS: Today, the FBI released its most comprehensive look at the rate of violent crime in the U.S. The data shows crimes like murder, rape and assault were down overall by 4.5% compared to last year- compared to the year before, I should say. So for tonight's interview, we're now joined by CBS's Senior Coordinating Producer for Crime and Public Safety, Anna Schecter. Anna. Good to see you. You tell me you're not surprised by the data in this report. Why not?
ANNA SCHECTER: Not at all. In fact, this is right in line with the projections. We knew that crime spiked. Particularly violent crime in the wake of the pandemic. And so those numbers were really high, and they have been coming down over the last couple of years. So all the statisticians that I've talked to, they were expecting this. But it's nice to have the FBI stamp of approval. These are the reported numbers. So that's big law enforcement agencies, small, small sheriff's offices that are reporting into the FBI. And this is their final analysis for last year.
DuBOIS: The data is one thing, but people report that they feel that violent crime is everywhere and is up. Politicians seize on that and fan those flames. What's your sense as to why people feel that way versus this data?
SCHECTER: Well, there are such high profile crimes that we are all covering and that get flown around and thrown around in the political rhetoric. So a lot, especially in the last year, this has been a really hot topic. But if you actually look at the numbers, the total numbers, they are significantly down for these violent crimes that you just ticked off. So the feeling doesn't match the data. And historically, we've seen generally people feel like crime rates are higher than they actually are.
DuBOIS: So interesting. So why? Everybody wants to know why. What's happening here?
SCHECTER: Well, a lot of police departments, particularly the big ones that I'm talking to, they credit these violence interrupter programs, these community based programs that sort of bring police officers together with the community, creating trust. There have been a lot of investment in those resources. So the LAPD, the NYPD, they are crediting those. They're also crediting technology. So the ability to tap into surveillance footage, drones, automated license plate readers that help them find perpetrators of crimes faster and arrest them.
DuBOIS: Interestingly, the Chicago superintendent said that he was getting more cooperation from witnesses, which is a surprising change and turn of events.
SCHECTER: Well, I think this messaging of “if you see something, say something.” I don't think the public fully understands how much law enforcement leans on them for tips, but there has been this general, just in the last few years in particular, like the last couple of years, people feeling a little bit more trust in law enforcement than they did say in 2020. So you're seeing this uptick in people reporting crimes, reporting tips, that sort of thing. And that is pretty recent because, you know, from 2015 through 2022, 2023, so much anger towards police, so much distrust for a lot of good reason. But that is shifting the other way at this time.
DuBOIS: A sea change, quite frankly. One thing the FBI did note, there has been an increase in the number of officers shot in the line of duty, despite all this data coming down. What do you make of that?
SCHECTER: That's right. It's something that we're looking at. And we are- we've actually been working with the FBI as they are trying to find out why police officers are getting shot in the line of duty at a higher number, higher rate. Also ambushed, specifically ambushed. So we've been doing a lot of reporting on that recently. You know, I think this comes down to an armed civilian population. More people have guns, and that has resulted in a higher rate of police officers shot.
DuBOIS: Okay. Thanks for the insight. Anna Schecter. Appreciate it.
SCHECTER: Of course.
