According to crime statistics released Aug. 24 from the FBI, which aggregate data from the previous year to calculate crime rates, violent crime fell 9.3 percent in 2025, the sharpest year-over-year decline since the FBI began aggregating crime data in 1936.
While liberal skeptics are reluctant to attribute the decline to President Trump’s robust anti-crime approach — including an executive order aimed at strengthening protections for law enforcement and $300 million in grants through the Model Cities Initiative to fund equipment and training for officers — the data does not lie.
According to the FBI, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter plummeted 18.1 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, robbery dropped 18.5 percent, sexual assault fell 7.6 percent, and aggravated assault fell 7.2 percent.
The estimated murder rate plummeted to 4.1 per 100,000 individuals, a number not seen since the 1950s and the lowest since the FBI began recording national crime measures.
Other crimes plummeted as well, with property crime declining an average of 12.4 percentage points since 2024, burglary falling 15.8 percent, larceny falling 9.8 percent, and auto theft declining 22.7 percent, according to the report.
While left-wing skeptics have declared that the decline in crime has nothing to do with President Trump and point out that crime peaked during the Biden administration due to the pandemic so declines were to be expected, the declines under President Trump have reached major lows across multiple categories not seen since the early to mid-2000s.
The 2025 robbery rate of 49.4 per 100,000 Americans is the lowest in 20 years. The rate for sexual assault is the lowest since 2012, and the murder rate is the lowest in 20 years. Robbery, sexual violence, and murder did not decline merely compared to pandemic numbers; they reversed significantly under the Trump administration compared to the 2000s.
The numbers behind these staggering declines in crime come from data submitted by over 17,000 state, county, city, tribal, university, and college law enforcement agencies, according to the FBI.
President Trump has not taken a modest approach to tackling crime. In fact, the Trump administration has taken significant action to reduce crime rates, including deporting the “worst of the worst” criminals from sanctuary cities, introducing a Model Cities Initiative to direct Department of Justice (DOJ) grants toward cities to bolster law enforcement, and directing federal resources toward policing through executive orders. The approach appears to be working.
In June 2026, President Trump rolled out the Model Cities Initiative, committing around $300 million in grants to specific U.S. cities to hire and retain law enforcement, purchase new equipment and tools, fund services including shelter and advocacy for vulnerable populations, and fund programs that treat mental health issues and addictions, among other funding objectives.
In April 2025, President Trump signed an executive order committed to promoting safe communities and a well-equipped police force. The executive order strengthens protections for law enforcement, including providing legal resources for law enforcement personnel who unjustly face legal battles through the line of duty and coaching state and local law enforcement on best practices.
While Democrats have advocated for sanctuary policies that shield dangerous criminals from the law, stoked the flames of violent agitators that have made it more difficult for law enforcement to do their jobs, and protested against deportation efforts, the Trump administration’s commitment to reducing crime is working, and the data proves it. Crime across multiple categories hit record lows in 2025. Once the 2026 data is aggregated next year, the data is likely to continue to show a significant reduction in crime compared to modern-era norms, as long as the country continues to support law enforcement and the rule of law.
Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
