The White House · Report · File No. 261106-648
Federal survey: violent crime victimization fell 25% in 2025, property crime 19%
A Justice Department survey found fewer Americans were victims of violent and property crime in 2025. That is a data point in the debate over whether cities face a crime emergency.
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Americans were victims of fewer violent and property crimes in 2025 than in 2024, according to preliminary federal survey results. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, part of the Justice Department, released them in the final week before the midterm election 13.
The survey is the National Crime Victimization Survey. It counts crimes that people report to police and crimes they never reported. It interviews people 12 and older about violent crime other than murder, and it also covers household property crime 1.
What the numbers show
The rate of violent crime, not counting simple assault, fell 25%. It went from 9.9 victimizations per 1,000 people in 2024 to 7.4 per 1,000 in 2025 1. Aggravated assault, which is generally the more serious kind of attack, fell 31%, from 4.5 to 3.1 per 1,000 1.
Robbery fell 27%. Rape and sexual assault fell 11%. Simple assault dipped only slightly, from 18.8 to 18.3 per 1,000 1.
From Channel GOPPatel lashes out when asked if FBI investigated herKash Patel · 324 plays · captioned, with the source named
Property crime fell 19%, from 138.0 per 1,000 households to 111.2. Households suffered an estimated 14.9 million property victimizations in 2025. Motor vehicle theft fell 30%, and burglary or trespassing fell 25% 1.
Even with the drop, Americans 12 and older still experienced an estimated 7.5 million violent victimizations in 2025 1.
Caveats and corroboration
The figures are preliminary and may change when final estimates are published, which the bureau says will happen in 2027 3. The bureau fully switched to a redesigned survey in January 2025. It warns that the new estimates cannot be directly compared with those from the old version 13.
Other data point the same way. The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program, which tracks crimes reported to police, has documented several years of falling crime. Preliminary FBI data suggests the declines have continued into 2026 1. Crime trends still vary from one community to another 1.
To see that those things really align, it gives me much more confidence that I’ve had over these past several years that what we’re seeing is a real decline in crimes beyond homicides,
The politics
The Trump administration has not treated the drop as bad news. CBS News reported that Trump and his allies have campaigned on the decline in violent crime. It said the White House released FBI crime findings ahead of a campaign event on Long Island, New York 2.
That matters because the same administration has pointed to crime as a reason for sending federal forces into cities. The new survey does not settle that argument. Crime is falling nationally, but it varies by place, and the report does not rate any single city or deployment 1.
The final 2025 report is not due until next year 3. Until then, the preliminary numbers give older readers one measure of how safe their neighborhoods have become.
The Record
- The Bureau of Justice Statistics fully moved to a redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey, so new estimates are not directly comparable with old ones 13.
- The bureau released preliminary 2025 estimates showing a 25% drop in serious violent victimization 23.
- Stateline reported the findings and noted they are consistent with FBI data on crimes reported to police 1.
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Sources
- Stateline, “Violent, property crime victimization rates fell in 2025, federal data shows” (2026-11-06). stateline.org/2026/11/06/violent-property-crime-victimizatio
- CBS News, “Violent crime victimization fell in 2025, survey data shows” (2026-10-26). cbsnews.com/news/violent-crime-victimization-2025-survey-dat
- Office of Justice Programs, “BJS releases Preliminary Victimization Estimates from the NCVS, 2025” (2026-10-26). ojp.gov/news/news-release/bjs-releases-preliminary-victimiza
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