The FBI released its 2024 Uniform Crime Report on September 22, 2025, showing violent crime fell 4.5% nationally and murder fell 14.9% — the largest one-year murder decline in modern recorded history and the lowest murder rate since 2004. Property crime fell 7.1%. These figures are confirmed by the FBI, Fox News, NPR, CNN, and the Marshall Project, though analysts on both sides noted a significant data collection caveat.
The 2024 data covered approximately 79% of the U.S. population, as the FBI transitioned from the legacy Summary Reporting System to the new National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Major cities including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are included in the data. The Marshall Project and other researchers noted that the partial coverage means national totals undercount absolute crime numbers, though the trends are considered directionally reliable.
The murder rate decline was particularly dramatic: the FBI recorded 17,103 homicides in 2024, down from approximately 20,100 in 2023 and 22,900 at the 2021 peak. Criminologists attributed the decline to multiple factors including the post-COVID normalization of social patterns, continued police staffing recovery, and the end of the fentanyl-related violence surge in several cities.
Despite the crime decline, the FBI reported that assaults on law enforcement officers reached a 10-year high in 2024, with 60,000 officers assaulted — up 5% from 2023. Fox News emphasized the crime decline as vindication of 'law and order' policies. NPR cautioned that data collection gaps made exact comparisons difficult and noted that the officer-assault figure showed policing remained dangerous. Both sides acknowledged the statistical trends pointed in the same direction on overall crime.
Left-Leaning Emphasis
- NPR cautioned that data gaps from the NIBRS transition make exact year-over-year comparisons difficult.
- Left outlets noted that crime remains high in absolute terms and that communities of color bear a disproportionate burden.
- NPR and CNN highlighted the officer assault increase as evidence that public safety challenges persist despite the overall decline.
Right-Leaning Emphasis
- Fox News credited Trump's 'law and order' approach and increased police funding for the dramatic crime decline.
- Daily Wire said the murder decline vindicated policies that the left had called 'racist' and 'ineffective.'
- Right outlets highlighted the 20-year low as historic and called for continued investment in police.
Sources
- Fox News Sep 22
- NPR Sep 22
- CNN Sep 22
- Associated Press Sep 22