Statement on FBI’s 2025 Reported Crimes in the Nation
This statement is in response to breaking news. Please contact pr@rstreet.org to speak with the scholar.
Today, the FBI released its 2025 “Reported Crimes in the Nation” statistics report. In response, R Street Institute’s Resident Senior Fellow of Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties Jillian Snider has released the following statement:
“Making this information available ahead of the usual schedule gives policymakers, law enforcement, researchers, and communities a clearer picture of national crime trends as they weigh decisions for next year. The report delivers welcome news. Violent crime declined an estimated 9.3 percent in 2025, and property crime fell 12.4 percent. The national murder rate dropped to 4.1 per 100,000 residents—tying 1955 and 1956 for the lowest rate since national estimates began in 1936.
At the same time, the data underscores that national averages do not capture every community’s experience. While no population group saw an overall increase in violent crime, progress was uneven. These findings point to real progress worth sustaining—and to the continued need for evidence-based policies that support the communities where improvement has lagged. Preliminary 2026 data suggests the downward trend is continuing, and R Street looks forward to working with policymakers to build on this momentum.”
Snider is a retired New York City Police Department officer and currently teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She recently wrote a seven-part series, What Works in American Policing, the findings of which follow below. She is available for comment and for interview.
Policing strategies comparison table with verdict, strengths, weaknesses, and problem addressed
| Strategy | Verdict | Core strengths | Built-in weaknesses | Problem addressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence-based policing | Foundational: The method | Tests what works; keeps only what is proven | Needs analysts and clean data many agencies lack | Money spent on untested tactics |
| Hot spots and precision policing | Deserves investment | Strongest evidence for reducing and solving crime | Some tactics risk Fourth Amendment issues | Scarce manpower spread too thin |
| Problem-oriented policing | Deserves investment | Fixes root causes; proven, repeatable crime drops | Often done superficially—arrests may substitute for analysis | Repeat calls to same place |
| Intelligence-led policing | Needs rethinking | Targets those who drive the worst violence | Minimal evidence; profiling and surveillance risk | Prolific offender driving most harm |
| Community-oriented policing | Foundational: The trust base | Builds trust and cooperation | Real version is rare; outreach misses those who need it | Cooperation gap (no tips, no cases) |
| Predictive policing | Approach with caution | Transparent, map-based models show crime | Black-box tools unproven; can entrench bias | Anticipating crime before it happens |