Some of the nation’s most violent cities, like Birmingham, are reporting nearly 49% reductions in homicides.
In 2025, the United States appears poised to record the largest one-year drop in murders in modern history.
According to the Real-Time Crime Index (RTCI), a regularly updated aggregation of law enforcement agency data, U.S. murders fell nearly 20% nationwide through October 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
Similarly, robberies dropped by 18.3%, aggravated assaults by 7.5%, and property crime by 12.3% in the same timeframe. Crime data analysts like Jeff Asher are describing it as a “remarkable drop in crime.”
These improvements were—perhaps understandably—most observable in historically high-crime cities. In Baltimore, murders are down by roughly 31%. In New York, murders full by 20%; Atlanta by 26%; Albuquerque by 32% drop; Chicago by 28%. One of the biggest winners is Birmingham, Alabama, which recently posted a nearly 49% reduction.
These results are staggering. And they can be directly attributed to efforts by the Trump administration to expand federal crime-fighting efforts in major American cities.
Across 2025, Trump deployed federal agents and National Guard units to assist local law enforcement in tightening up public safety. In Memphis, for example, Trump ordered around 700 agents who, in the span of mere days, conducted over 1,000 arrests, identified over 30 murder suspects, and rescued 44 missing children.
In Washington, D.C., municipal officials credited a coordinated federal and local law enforcement presence with substantial crime reductions. Of particular note, carjackings dropped by 87%.
“This federal surge has had a significant decrease in crime in Washington, DC, and we greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is generally not a fan of the Trump administration.
Most recently, President Trump approved the deployment of 350 National Guard members to New Orleans to support ongoing law enforcement efforts.
Of course, these efforts—and their results—also coincide with the multi-agency operations by the administration to crack down on illegal immigration, using authorities such as the Laken Riley Act. The law, signed by President Trump earlier in the year, allows immigration officials greater latitude to detain and deport undocumented immigrants alleged to be involved in serious criminal activity. Operations under this framework led to the apprehension of over 1,000 illegal immigrants during a dedicated two-week initiative, the majority of whom objectively had histories of violence and property crimes.
While national crime data are still preliminary and will not be formally published by the FBI until mid-2026, crime data analysts like Jeff Asher, co-founder of AD Datalytics, have described the ongoing drop in homicides as “a remarkable drop in crime.”
“Borders are closed, the National Guard is deployed to our most dangerous cities, and narco terrorists are being struck down before they get to US soil,” one Instagram user comments on a post about the story. “Thank you, Trump!”
“Imagine,” comments another: “Enforcing the law leads to less people committing crime.”
In cities that have historically struggled with elevated crime, the encouraging figures from 2025 represent hope. Once-violent neighborhoods are measurably safer than they were a year ago, and thousands of lives have been saved. Those who live in communities where the difference has been tangible can only hope this momentum continues well into 2026 and beyond.
