NEW: Violent Crime, Murder Rates Plunge To Historic Lows

A recent study from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) found that murder rates in America’s largest cities have plunged to historic lows in 2025.

The analysis, which reviewed data from 35 large U.S. cities, found a 21 percent decrease in reported homicides compared to 2024, resulting in approximately 922 fewer incidents total. This reduction marks the largest single-year decline in homicides on record and could bring the national rate to its lowest level since 1900, potentially around 4.0 per 100,000 residents if nationwide FBI data aligns with these trends.

The CCJ report examines crime trends in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and others, revealing widespread improvements. Of the 35 cities tracked for homicides, 31 experienced declines, with some seeing reductions of 40 percent or more.

Specific examples include Denver, which experienced a 41 percent drop in homicides, while Washington D.C. and Omaha, Nebraska, each experienced reductions of 40 percent. Richmond, Virginia, achieved the steepest fall at 59 percent, while Los Angeles recorded a 39 percent reduction. New York City’s rate fell by 10 percent, and Atlanta experienced a 14 percent decrease, bringing its total below 100 homicides for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

A handful of cities, like Milwaukee and Little Rock, Arkansas, bucked the trend with increases, but overall, the data points to a broad reversal of the post-pandemic spike in violence.

The decline extended beyond homicides to other violent crimes. For example, the study found a 23 percent drop in robberies and a 43 percent decrease in carjackings across the sampled cities. Aggravated assaults fell by 8 percent, and motor vehicle thefts decreased by 23 percent.

When compared with pre-pandemic levels, homicides were 25 percent lower in 2025, shootings 13 percent lower, and carjackings 29 percent fewer.

The FBI’s 2024 data already indicated that the national violent crime rate had reached its lowest point since 1969, with homicides down nearly 15 percent that year, setting the stage for continued improvement in 2025.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted the report during Thursday’s White House press briefing. “This dramatic decline is what happens when a president secures the border, fully mobilizes federal law enforcement to arrest violent criminals, and aggressively deports the worst of the worst illegal aliens from our country,” she said.

Leavitt shared that the FBI made twice as many violent-crime arrests in 2025 as it did in 2024, the last full year of former President Joe Biden’s presidency.

“The FBI also disrupted 1,800 gangs and criminal enterprises, a 210 percent increase from the year prior. The FBI has arrested 1,700 child predators and more than 300 human traffickers across the country,” she noted. “Since President Trump took office, six of the FBI’s top 10 Most Wanted fugitives have been captured.”

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