FBI reports largest drop in violent crime and murder since 1937 as homicides fall more than 18%

Violent crime fell across the United States from 2024 to 2025, with murders falling by more than 18%, as well as declines in other major categories not seen in almost a century, according to the FBI.

The numbers were part of the FBI’s figures on preliminary annual crime trends titled “First Look: 2025 Crime Data,” which the bureau said provides a faster, “early look” at annual crime trends before the finalized, comprehensive “Crime in the Nation” report is published later in the year.

In addition to declining homicides, the report showed a decrease in robberies — which fell an estimated 18.5% — as well as rapes and aggravated assaults, both of which saw 7% drops.

“The 2025 crime data in this report shows the single largest decrease in violent crime and murder since 1937 – as well as huge decreases across the board in terms of aggravated assault, rape, and robbery,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.

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“Over the last 14 months, we made major transformations at the FBI, and these results show those changes are working,” Patel said in a statement. “This FBI will continue to stack these wins for the American people under President Trump and always Back the Blue every step of the way.”

Property crime, which includes offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson, dropped by an estimated 12.4%, the FBI said. This year’s report used data shared by roughly 17,075 law enforcement agencies — 2.4% more agencies than last year — across the U.S., accounting for nearly 96% of U.S. residents, the FBI said.

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The report found that 53 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in 2025, down from 64 in 2024. More than 90,000 were assaulted and 28 were accidentally killed, the FBI said.

Meanwhile, nearly 414,000 arrests were made for violent crimes and another 868,000 for property crimes. The FBI noted that a murder in the U.S. occurred every 37.3 minutes and a violent crime happened every 28.2 seconds.

Meanwhile, a quarterly report released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association said violent crime fell across large U.S. cities in the first months of 2026.

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Data collected from 67 responding U.S. police agencies found that homicides fell 17.7%, alongside a 20.4% drop for robberies from Jan. 1 through March 31. Some of the agencies include police departments in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Philadelphia.