Violent Crime Victimization Fell 25% in 2025, DOJ Survey Shows

Violent crime victimization in the United States fell by roughly a quarter in 2025, the first year of President Trump’s second term, according to preliminary survey data the Justice Department released Monday.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics said in its new report that the rate of violent crime excluding simple assault dropped 25%, from 9.9 victimizations per 1,000 people age 12 or older in 2024 to 7.4 per 1,000 in 2025. The Justice Department announced the findings in a post on X, saying violent crime, property victimization, burglary, motor vehicle theft and other household theft “FELL SIGNIFICANTLY in 2025.”

🚨 New preliminary estimates from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey show that the rate of violent crime, property victimization, burglary or trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of household theft FELL SIGNIFICANTLY in 2025.… pic.twitter.com/O7DPcBZ2j8

— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) October 26, 2026

CBS News reported that the drop amounts to an estimated 669,000 fewer violent crimes, excluding simple assaults, than in 2024, and that the Justice Department described it as the largest decline since 1973.

The biggest drops

Aggravated assault fell the most among violent crimes. According to the BJS report, the aggravated assault rate declined 31%, from 4.5 to 3.1 per 1,000 people, which CBS News put at about 390,000 fewer incidents. CBS News also reported that robbery victimization was down 27%.

Property crime fell sharply too. The BJS report said the household property victimization rate dropped 19%, from 138.0 to 111.2 per 1,000 households. According to the report, burglary or trespassing fell 25%, motor vehicle theft fell 30% and other household theft fell 19%. The New York Post reported that the motor vehicle theft decline works out to about 349,000 fewer vehicles stolen, and the burglary decline to about 460,000 fewer incidents.

In total, the BJS report estimated that U.S. residents age 12 or older experienced 7.5 million violent victimizations in 2025, down from about 8.2 million in 2024, and that households experienced 14.9 million property victimizations.

What the survey measures

The National Crime Victimization Survey is conducted by the Census Bureau for the Justice Department and asks a nationally representative sample of households about crimes they experienced, whether or not those crimes were reported to police, according to the BJS. CBS News reported that the 2025 survey drew on 101,980 household interviews, with 53% of eligible households completing them.

Because the survey is based on interviews with victims, it does not count homicides, according to the BJS. The bureau also cautioned that the 2025 numbers are preliminary and could change when final estimates are published in 2027, and that results from its redesigned survey are not comparable to estimates from the older version of the survey.

The enforcement push

Federal law enforcement has also pointed to its own numbers. Just the News reported that the FBI’s nationwide Operation Summer Heat 2.0, which ran from June 1 through Sept. 20, resulted in 8,927 arrests and located 1,410 children. Fox News reported that FBI Director Kash Patel credited the results to moving nearly 2,000 FBI personnel out of Washington and into field offices.

The report was released eight days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Sources

• Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Preliminary Victimization Estimates from the NCVS, 2025” (Oct. 26, 2026)
• U.S. Department of Justice on X
• CBS News
• New York Post
• Just the News
• Fox News

Reporting by Daily Beltway.