A new report by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) shows the murder rate in the country has dropped to historic levels.
CCJ analyzed monthly crime data from 40 cities over the past 8 years.
11 of 13 crime categories saw a decline in 2025 compared to 2024. 9 of the 13 saw a drop by 10% or more, homicides dropped by 21%. CCJ says drug crimes were the only offense category that increased (+7%); sexual assault remained even.
Key Takeaways According to CCJ:
Looking at changes in violent offenses, the rate of reported homicides was 21% lower in 2025 than in 2024 in the 35 study cities providing data for that crime, representing 922 fewer homicides. There were 9% fewer reported aggravated assaults, 22% fewer gun assaults, and 2% fewer domestic violence incidents last year than in 2024. Robbery fell by 23% while carjackings (a type of robbery) decreased by 43%.
With the decline in homicides, CCJ says this would be the lowest rate ever recorded in law enforcement or public health data going back to 1900, and would mark the largest single-year percentage drop in the homicide rate on record.
Property Crimes:
Motor vehicle theft had been on the rise from the summer of 2020 through 2023, but that trend began to reverse in 2024 and the pattern continued in 2025. There were 27% fewer motor vehicle thefts last year than in 2024 in the study cities. Reports of residential burglaries (-17%), nonresidential burglaries (-18%), larcenies (-11%), and shoplifting (-10%) all decreased in 2025 compared to 2024.
Non-violent crime trends have been varied over the last seven years. There were fewer residential burglaries (-45%), larcenies (-20%), and reported shop lifting incidents (-4%) in 2025 than in 2019, but more non-residential burglaries (+1%) and motor vehicle thefts (+9%). Drug offenses in 2025 were 19% below 2019 levels.
In Florida, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) reports some of the major cities are seeing a drop in violent and property crimes, including homicides, robberies, and motor vehicle thefts.
