CBS News confirmed President Donald Trump’s assertion during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address that the United States experienced its lowest murder rate on record in 2025.
“Last year, the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history. This is the biggest decline, think of it, in recorded history — the lowest number in over 125 years,” he said.
.@POTUS: “The flow of deadly fentanyl across our border is down by a record 56% in one year. And last year, the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history. This is the biggest decline, think of it, in recorded history. The lowest number in over 125 years.” pic.twitter.com/71O1afIaaS
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) February 25, 2026
CBS News pointed to a January study by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, which concluded that there is a “strong possibility” that the 2025 homicide rate will drop to about 4 per 100,000 residents.
That would be “the lowest recorded in law enforcement or public health data dating back to 1900.”
The think tank’s report indicated that the reasons for last year’s steep decline are not clear, but researchers suggested “changes in criminal justice policy and practice, shifts in people’s routine activities and social behavior, economic conditions, technology use, and local violence prevention efforts.”
The report estimated, based on currently available data from U.S. cities, that the rate of homicides dropped 21 percent from 2024 to 2025, during the first year of Trump’s second term.
That “would mark the largest single-year percentage drop in the homicide rate on record,” the organization said.
The New York Times reported in January, “The analysis of data from 40 cities, by the Council on Criminal Justice… found across-the-board decreases in crime last year compared to 2019: 25 percent fewer homicides, 13 percent fewer shootings and 29 percent fewer carjackings.”
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation has not yet released nationwide crime data for all of 2025, but statistics published by cities and collected by independent researchers are already telling the latest chapter of a remarkable story. In just half a decade, cities have gone from upswings in murder and mayhem the likes of which some had not seen in 25 years to declines themselves worthy of headlines,” the outlet added.
“The spikes began in 2020 with the shock of the global pandemic and, just a few months later, sweeping protests over police killings, both of which strained the capacity of law enforcement.”
The Council on Criminal Justice pointed out that crime overall had begun dropping in 2024 before Trump took office, though not at the same rate.
Blessed are the peacemakers, both at home and abroad. pic.twitter.com/1PSbeb7yd1
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 22, 2026
The White House took a victory lap in January, touting the development as one of Trump’s campaign pledges being fulfilled: “Make America Safe Again.”
“This monumental turnaround is a direct result of President Trump’s unwavering commitment to Make America Safe Again. In addition to the historic drop in murders last year, the nation experienced steep declines in rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, shooting deaths (fewest since 2015), on-duty law enforcement officer deaths (80-year low), traffic fatalities, and overdose deaths,” the White House said.
ICYMI: Murder Rate Plunges to 125-Year Low as President Trump Restores Law and Orderhttps://t.co/9FVjG6B6fy
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 22, 2026
“President Trump is reversing the chaos and carnage unleashed by Radical Left Democrats who turned our streets into war zones by coddling criminals and opening our borders. Since taking office, President Trump has deployed a whole-of-government offensive in Democrat-run cities, driving down crime, ridding the streets of savage criminal illegal aliens, backing law enforcement, and bringing back order where incompetent Democrat politicians surrendered to anarchy and despair,” Trump’s team added.
A Gallup survey conducted in October found that Americans are feeling safer.
Less than half of respondents, 49 percent, said crime was an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the United States, down from 63 percent last year. The level of concern is currently at its lowest mark since at least 2018, during Trump’s first term, Gallup said.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
