Report: U.S. major crime rates drop below pre-pandemic levels

Homicides and several other serious offenses, including gun assaults and carjackings, dropped during the first half of 2025 across 42 U.S. cities, continuing a downward trend that began in 2022, according to a new crime trends report released this week (Source: “Violent crime continues to drop across US cities, report shows,” Stateline, July 24).
 
The report by the nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice found that homicides fell 17% in the first half of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, among the 30 cities that reported homicide data, according to the report.
 
Most major crimes fell in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year, according to the council’s report. Motor vehicle thefts dropped by 25%, while reported gun assaults fell 21%. Robberies, residential and non-residential burglaries, shoplifting, and aggravated and sexual assaults also saw double-digit declines.
 
Drug offenses held steady, while domestic violence reports rose slightly — by about 3%. Carjackings declined 24% and larcenies were down 5%.
 
Compared with the first half of 2019, before the pandemic and nationwide reckoning over racial justice and policing, overall homicides are down 14%, robberies by 30%, and sexual assaults by 28%.
 
The authors say more research is needed before crediting any specific policy or practice for the continued drop in violent crime.