Murder is almost always reported and has been on a decline, along with general violent crime, since the 90s
If you look at absolute numbers, the NYPD is recording year over year increases in major violent felonies whereas the FBI is saying there are year over year decreases.
If you don't, every time medicine improves, it will look like people are less murderous. In reality the victims might just have access to better hospitals.
So it turns out that both measures are kind of hard to use, for different reasons.
Personally, that's no reason to be solipsistic about it. I can still form coherent ideas about whether or not there is more crime than usual. But it does leave enough wiggle room for people to lie about the issue for political reasons, in whichever direction you least prefer.