The FBI released its 2025 Uniform Crime Report on Friday, confirming a historic decline in violent crime, including an 18.1% drop in homicides and a 9.3% decrease in overall violent crime compared to 2024. The report, based on data from over 17,000 law enforcement agencies, marks the largest single-year reduction in violent crime since the FBI began tracking such estimates in 1936.
President Donald Trump hailed the figures during a speech to law enforcement officers in New York, calling the decline “the single largest reduction in violent crime in American history.” He cited preliminary 2026 data showing continued decreases, including a 23% drop in murders and a 20% decline in robberies in the first half of the year. Trump also highlighted federal enforcement actions, stating that 1.2 million arrests had been made since his administration’s return to office.
The FBI’s report detailed declines across multiple categories: rape offenses fell 7.6%, robbery decreased 18.5%, and aggravated assault dropped 7.2%. Property crimes also saw significant reductions, with burglaries down 15.8% and motor vehicle theft declining 22.7%. The murder rate of 4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants tied with 1955 and 1956 for the lowest rate since FBI estimations began.
Experts caution against attributing the decline to a single cause, noting that crime rates have been falling since 2022 across cities with varying policies and economic conditions. Adam Gelb, president of the Council on Criminal Justice, described the drop as “historic and crystal clear” but added that the drivers remain unclear. “Rates are falling in cities with very different public safety strategies, economic conditions, and political leadership,” Gelb said. “The consistency across the map should make us cautious about handing credit to any one leader, party, policy, or program before the data is fully analyzed.”
The FBI’s report included data from every U.S. city with a population over 1 million, providing a comprehensive national snapshot. Preliminary trends for 2026, as noted by FBI Director Kash Patel, indicate that the downward trajectory is continuing. The White House also highlighted the reductions, calling the 2025 figures “the best numbers anybody’s ever seen on crime.”
The decline follows a period of elevated crime rates post-2020, with violent crime spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic before beginning to stabilize in 2023. While the 2025 report offers no definitive explanation for the trend, it underscores a significant shift in national crime statistics, with federal officials and independent analysts alike acknowledging the unprecedented nature of the reductions.