By Steve Neavling
Violent crime in the U.S. dropped 4.5% last year, according to new FBI statistics released Tuesday, continuing a downward trend despite rhetoric claiming otherwise.
The FBI’s annual crime report is based on data from more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies, covering 95% of the population. The 2024 report included more submissions than the year before, and every city with a population of at least 1 million provided a full year of data.
The report shows a 14.9% drop in murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, an 8.9% decrease in robbery, a 5.2% decline in rape, and a 3.0% drop in aggravated assault. Property crime fell by 8.1%, while hate crimes declined by 1.5%.
“Estimates based on reported crime have decreased, but the data still indicates that violent crime occurred an average of every 25.9 seconds and property crime every 5.3 seconds,” FBI Assistant Director Timothy Ferguson during a media call, NBC News reports.
The numbers undermine repeated claims by President Donald Trump that crime is rampant under Democratic leadership.
“You can’t walk across the street to get a loaf of bread. You get shot, you get mugged, you get raped,” Trump said last year at a campaign event near Detroit.
While overall crime fell, the FBI reported a rise in officer fatalities and assaults. Sixty-four law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 2024, most of them by firearms. An additional 43 officers died in accidents, primarily involving motor vehicles.
Assaults on officers hit a 10-year high, with more than 85,700 reported last year.
“Between 2021 and 2024, we had 258 law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the line of duty,” an FBI official said.
