DOJ Survey: Violent Crime Incidents Drop by 669,000 in 2025
Preliminary data from the National Crime Victimization Survey indicates a 25% decline in victimization rates compared to 2024.
By Carmen Wojcik ·
The number of violent crimes, excluding simple assaults, decreased by an estimated 669,000 in 2025 compared to the previous year. A preliminary survey released on Monday shows that the overall rate of victimization fell by approximately 25%. The Justice Department stated that this represents the largest decline in this category since 1973.
The data comes from the National Crime Victimization Survey, which is conducted by the Census Bureau and released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The survey relies on a sample of interviews with U.S. household members aged 12 and older. Participants were questioned regarding the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization. For the 2025 cycle, researchers completed 101,980 household interviews. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that 53% of eligible households participated in the survey.
Specific categories of violent crime showed steep year-over-year declines. Aggravated assault victimization dropped by an estimated 31%, amounting to roughly 390,000 fewer incidents in 2025. Robbery rates fell by 27% during the same period. The survey also tracked property crime, finding that victimization in this sector decreased by 19%. Within property crimes, burglary and trespassing dropped by 25%, while motor vehicle theft declined by 29%.
These preliminary findings align with data released earlier in the year from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. That report, which aggregates data from law enforcement agencies across the nation, indicated that violent crime rates fell sharply in 2025. It recorded a 20-year low in the national murder rate. Other categories in that report showed similar downward trends, with aggravated assaults down 7.2%, rapes down 7.6%, and robbery down approximately 18.5% compared to the prior year.
President Donald Trump and political allies have emphasized these statistics while campaigning for the upcoming midterm elections. The goal is to help Republicans maintain their majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives. In a departure from previous administrative practices, the White House announced the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report findings before a campaign event on Long Island, New York. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel attended that event.
