Trump Admin’s Crime Crackdown Helps Drive Historic Drop In Murders
Crime initiatives by President Donald Trump’s administration have coincided with a record year-over-year drop in murders, according to crime data.
Murders are down about 20% so far this year compared to the same period in 2024 – January to October, according to an analysis by crime data expert Jeff Asher. He cited the Real-Time Crime Index (RTCI), which drew its recent data from 570 law enforcement agencies. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: White House Unveils End-of-Year Success in Coughing Up Urban Crime)
The RTCI excludes manslaughter, self-defense, negligence and accidental killing, according to the website’s glossary. Although the data currently extends through October and the FBI’s official violent crime statistics for 2025 won’t be released until 2026, the RTCI has already tracked the federal data well, Axios reported.
President Donald Trump has made fighting violent crime a top priority during his second term. In August, he issued an executive order declaring a state of crime emergency in Washington, D.C., and ordered the deployment of the National Guard to assist in the crackdown. The city saw a drop of nearly 28% in murders this year, according to RTCI.
US murders see biggest one-year decline on record https://t.co/88i9MO8Ul9
-Axios (@axios) December 24, 2025
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump’s decision produced “immediate results in the nation’s capital” in a September press release, citing data from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, DC. MPD found that homicides dropped nearly 60% in August 2025 compared to August 2024.
Trump signed an executive order in July targeting crime and public unrest by authorizing federal support and resources to help local law enforcement combat violent crime and restore public safety.
The president also deployed the National Guard to Memphis, Tennessee. The city saw a nearly 20% decrease in murders between 2024 and 2025, according to the index.
Several major cities saw sharp declines in homicides compared to 2024. New York City, New York, saw a 17.6% drop, New Orleans, Louisiana, saw a 7.5% drop, and Los Angeles, California, reported a nearly 19% drop in murders.
Since 2021, crime rates nationwide have declined, RTCI data shows. Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation also showed this, according to Axios. The RTCI reported “considerable declines” for every crime type and population group it tracked, Asher noted. (RELATED: How America’s Capital Became a Haven for Crime)
A small number of jurisdictions have seen a sharp increase in murders this year. Gilbert, Arizona, and Johnston County, North Carolina, each saw homicide totals increase by 600 percent, according to the index.
Asher further sampled the 30 U.S. cities with the highest number of murders in 2024, obtaining data from the 29th through November, with Phoenix, Arizona, through September. Murders were down nearly 20%, suggesting this year’s sharp decline is almost certain, according to the sample.
Other major crime categories also declined nationally, with motor vehicle thefts down 23.2%, aggravated assaults down 7.5% and robberies down 18.3%.
