A new report from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) shows the country’s murder rate has fallen to historic levels.
CCJ analyzed monthly crime data from 40 cities over the past eight years.
In 2025, 11 out of 13 crime categories decreased compared to 2024. Nine of the 13 categories saw declines of 10% or more, with homicides down 21%. The CCJ states that drug offenses were the only crime category that increased (up 7%). Sexual assault remained egalitarian.
Key points from CCJ:
Looking at changes in violent crime, the reported homicide rate in 2025 was 21% lower than in 2024, representing a decrease of 922 homicides in the 35 surveyed cities that provide crime data. Last year, reported aggravated assaults were down 9% compared to 2024, gun assaults were down 22% and domestic violence incidents were down 2%. Robberies decreased by 23%, and carjackings (a type of robbery) decreased by 43%.
The CCJ said the decline in homicides would make this the lowest rate ever recorded in law enforcement and public health data dating back to 1900, and the largest single-year decline in homicide rates ever.
Property crime:
Auto theft increased from the summer of 2020 to 2023, but the trend began to reverse in 2024 and continued into 2025. In the cities surveyed, car thefts were 27% lower last year than in 2024. Reports of residential burglary (-17%), non-residential burglary (-18%), theft (-11%), and shoplifting (-10%) all decreased in 2025 compared to 2024.
Trends in nonviolent crime have changed over the past seven years. In 2025, compared to 2019, residential burglaries (-45%), thefts (-20%), and reported store flips (-4%) decreased, but non-residential burglaries (+1%) and motor vehicle thefts (+9%) increased. The number of drug crimes in 2025 was 19% lower than 2019 levels.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) reports that violent and property crimes, such as murders, robberies and auto thefts, are down in some major cities.
