Trump links rise in UK crimes to rise in 'radical Islamic terror' without evidence

President Donald Trump tweeted about a rise in crime in the UK on Friday and made a shaky connection to "radical Islamic terror."

Trump tweeted that "United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror," adding that "we must keep America safe."

The UK's Office for National Statistics published on Thursday a report detailing a 13 percent increase in crime as reported by police, at the same time as 35,000 residents of England and Wales found citizens reporting a nine percent decrease in crime.

The UK uses both methods as police records alone don't record all crime.

But while the UK did see an increase in overall crimes, homicides, and terror attacks, the report Trump cited seems to overstate the impact of terror attacks on overall crime.

With 664 total homicides in the past year, the 35 of them resulting from the terror attacks in London and Manchester only make up about 5.5 percent. Even with the two terror attacks excluded, homicides rose by 46 year on year.

The Office for National Statistics explained the increase in police-recorded crime in part by saying crime recording had improved, though they acknowledged a genuine increase in some crime categories.

Following the June terror attack on London bridge, Trump was widely criticized for politicizing the event where seven people died.

Trump has often made a rhetorical mission of going after what he calls "radical Islamic terror," pushing policies that critics say disproportionately target Muslims, such as his proposed travel bans.

Overall, crime has been trending downwards in the US and UK for decades.