Statistics released by the FBI on Tuesday show that violent crime decreased overall in the U.S. by 4.5% in 2024.
The FBI’s annual crime report is made up of data from over 16,000 agencies around the country, covering 95% of the U.S. population. Around 2% more agencies submitted crime data compared to the year prior. Notably, every city agency covering a population of 1 million or more submitted a full 12 months of data for the 2024 report.
According to the FBI, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 14.9%; robbery decreased an estimated 8.9%; rape decreased an estimated 5.2%; and aggravated assault decreased an estimated 3.0%.
Property crime also decreased an estimated 8.1% from 2023 to 2024, and hate crimes decreased an estimated 1.5% from 2023 to 2024, the report showed.
Estimates based on reported crime have decreased, but the data still shows that violent crime occurred an average of every 25.9 seconds, and property crime occurred every 5.3 seconds, according to FBI Assistant Director Timothy Ferguson, who spoke during a media briefing call announcing the report.
The newly-released statistics once again contradict President Donald Trump’s claims that crime in the U.S. is out of control.
“You can’t walk across the street to get a loaf of bread. You get shot, you get mugged, you get raped,” Trump said last year during a campaign event north of Detroit.
While there has been an overall decrease in crime, there has been an increase in officers killed in the line of duty.
In 2024, 64 officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty. A total of 61 offenders were reported in connection with these felonious killings. Firearms were involved in 46 of the 64 felonious deaths.
During the same year, 43 officers were accidentally killed while on duty, most of whom died due to motor vehicle-related injuries.
According to the FBI, reported assaults on officers reached a 10-year high, with over 85,700 assaults recorded in 2024.
“Between 2021 and 2024, we had 258 law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the line of duty,” which included 64 officers in 2024, according to an FBI official who also spoke on the call announcing the report.
When asked why there has been an uptick in reported officer assaults, an FBI official said increased reporting could have something to do with it.
“But I do think we agree with that premise, that we’re seeing an increase in law enforcement officers assaulted in the line of duty,” the official said. “And while I don’t have an answer for you today, what I can commit to you here is that we are conducting a study right now with our team to talk to victims and offenders to try to make a determination on why these are occurring.”
