The Federal Bureau of Investigation released crime statistics for 2025 on Friday showing significant decreases across multiple categories of criminal activity. The homicide rate declined to 4.1 per 100,000 residents, matching the lowest level recorded since 1900 and equivalent to rates seen in 1955 and 1956. Murders and nonnegligent manslaughter dropped 18.1% compared to the previous year, while violent crime overall fell 9.3%. Property crime declined by 12.4%, with motor vehicle theft experiencing a particularly steep decrease of nearly 23% to levels not seen in more than two decades.
Experts emphasized the difficulty in attributing the decline to any single factor. Adam Gelb, president and CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice, noted that violent crime rates have been falling since 2022 across cities with differing public safety strategies, economic conditions, and political leadership. Gelb cautioned against crediting specific leaders, parties, policies, or programs until evidence clarifies the underlying causes. The FBI data is compiled from more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies serving approximately 329 million Americans, though participation remains voluntary and not universal.
President Donald Trump announced the crime decreases during a visit to a New York police academy, attributing the reductions to his administration’s law enforcement support and crime-fighting measures, including National Guard deployments. Trump also criticized his predecessor and referenced sanctuary cities in his remarks. The FBI report noted an unusual preliminary indication that violent and other crime continued declining during the first six months of 2026, a departure from the agency’s typical practice of releasing complete annual data.
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