FBI data for 2025 show biggest drop in violent crime in 90 years

Data: FBI; Note: 2021 data was estimated due to a low number of agencies reporting; Chart: Noah Bressner/Axios The U.S. violent crime rate plunged 9.7% last year — the largest annual drop since the FBI's national estimates began in 1936 — according to the bureau's data released Friday and reviewed by Axios. Why it matt

Violent crime plummeted in 2025 with the murder rate falling 18% from its 2024 level, according to the FBI's annual crime report. Adam Gelb, president and CEO at the Council on Criminal Justice, joins CBS News to discuss the reason for the fall.

After decades of notoriously high murder totals, Baltimore and the people whose work entails dealing with the city’s most violent crimes are adjusting to a new reality.

Violent crime and murder rates fell sharply between 2024 and 2025, the largest year-to-year decrease since the federal government began tracking nationwide crime rates in 1936, according to FBI data.

The FBI's report, which compiles crime data from about 87% of the country's police departments, shows an 18.1% decrease in the murder rate compared with the prior year.

The US recorded another sharp fall in its murder rate, with homicides down 18 percent in the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2025.

The FBI announced Friday that violent crime, including murders, fell by record levels during 2025 as President Donald Trump touted the numbers.

Statistics released Friday by the FBI showed record declines last year in the national estimated violent crime rate and the estimated rate for murders and certain manslaughters.