Violent crime victimization, not counting simple assault, fell 25% from 2024 to 2025, according to preliminary Justice Department survey estimates released Monday.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics said the rate dropped from 9.9 to 7.4 victimizations per 1,000 people age 12 or older. Property crime fell 19%, from 138.0 to 111.2 per 1,000 households.
The National Crime Victimization Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau, asks Americans directly about crimes committed against them, including those never reported to police. That makes it a different yardstick from FBI statistics.
The department’s breakdown, reported by the Washington Examiner, shows aggravated assault victimization fell 31%, or about 390,000 incidents. Robbery dropped 27%, which works out to roughly 172,000 fewer robberies nationwide.
Burglary and trespassing victimization fell 25%, about 460,000 fewer incidents. Motor vehicle theft declined 29%, representing an estimated 349,000 fewer stolen vehicles, while total property crimes fell by roughly 3.4 million.
The department called the declines historic, describing them as the largest single-year decreases in the survey’s history for those categories. The survey has been running for more than 50 years, the Washington Times noted.
“This report is proof that President Trump’s ‘Make America Safe Again’ agenda is working,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said. “Under President Trump and Attorney General Blanche, the safety of law-abiding Americans will always come first.”
The administration credited its immigration crackdown, including the White House’s count of more than 400,000 deported illegal immigrants who had been charged with or convicted of crimes. Officials also cited drug, gun and gang enforcement.
How It Compares With FBI Numbers
The Justice Department argued the survey shows crime falling faster than police reports suggest. FBI data released earlier this year showed aggravated assaults down 7.2%, compared with the survey’s 31% decline in victimization.
The FBI’s annual crime report found violent crime fell 9.3% in 2025 and murder dropped 18.1%. The murder rate of 4.1 per 100,000 residents tied 1955 and 1956 for the lowest on record.
Early numbers for this year point in the same direction. The FBI reported violent crime down 10.6% and murder down 23% in the first six months of 2026 compared with the same stretch last year.
The statistics bureau cautions that the survey figures are preliminary and come from a redesigned questionnaire it fully adopted in January 2025. It says the new estimates are not comparable to those from the older version.
Final 2025 figures are due in 2027. The survey interviewed about 152,000 people last year, though interviewing paused during the fall 2025 government shutdown and response rates have fallen over time.
The release came eight days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, in which Republicans have made crime and immigration enforcement central themes of their pitch to voters.
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