Trump Admin’s Crime Crackdown Helps Drive Historic Drop In Murders

The crime initiatives of President Donald Trump’s administration have coincided with a record-setting one-year drop in murders, according to crime data.

Murders fell by around 20 percent so far this year compared with the same period in 2024 — from January to October, an analysis by crime data expert Jeff Asher found. He cited the Real-Time Crime Index (RTCI), which drew its recent date from 570 law enforcement agencies. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: White House Unveils Year-End Success Of City Crime Crackdown)

The RTCI excludes manslaughter, self-defense, negligence and accidental killings, according to the website’s glossary. While the data currently runs through October and official FBI violent crime statistics for 2025 will not be released until 2026, the RTCI has previously tracked well with federal data, Axios reported.

President Donald Trump has made combating violent crime a top priority in his second term. In August, he issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington, .D.C, and ordered the National Guard deployed to help crack down. The city experienced nearly a 28% drop in murders this year, according to the RTCI.

U.S. murders on pace for largest one-year drop on record https://t.co/88i9MO8Ul9

— Axios (@axios) December 24, 2025

Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said Trump’s move produced “immediate results in the nation’s capital” in a September press release, citing Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) data. The MPD found that homicides fell nearly 60% in August 2025 compared to August 2024.

Trump signed a July executive order targeting crime and public disorder 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 witnessed a nearly 20% decrease in murders from 2024 to 2025, according to the index.

Several major cities have seen sharp declines in homicides compared with 2024. New York City, New York, had a 17.6% decline, New Orleans, Louisiana, recorded a 7.5% decrease, and Los Angeles, California, reported murders down by nearly 19%.

Since 2021, crime rates nationwide have been falling, RTCI data indicated. Federal Bureau of Investigation data has also shown this, according to Axios. The RTCI reported “sizable declines” across all types of crime and all population groups it tracked, Asher noted. (RELATED: How America’s Capital Became Soft-On-Crime Haven)

A small number of jurisdictions experienced sharp increases in murders this year. Gilbert, Arizona, and Johnston County, North Carolina each saw homicide totals jump by 600 percent, according to the index.

Asher further sampled the 30 U.S. cities with the highest murder counts in 2024, obtaining data for 29 through November, with Phoenix, Arizona through September. Murders were down nearly 20%, suggesting this year’s sharp decline is all but certain, according the sample.

Other major crime categories have also declined nationwide with motor vehicle thefts down by 23.2%, aggravated assaults by 7.5% and robberies by 18.3%.