The Justice Department released a survey Monday showing violent crime fell 25% in 2025. This represents the largest single-year drop in the history of the National Crime Victimization Survey. The data shows 669,000 fewer violent crimes occurred last year compared to 2024.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward called the results proof of success. He told The Daily Wire that the report proves President Trump’s agenda is working. According to reports, the report confirms the “Make America Safe Again” agenda of President Trump is effective. He added that the safety of law-abiding Americans remains the top priority.
The survey covers crimes that victims report directly to the Census Bureau. This method captures incidents that often never reach police records. Aggravated assault victimization fell 31%, or about 390,000 fewer incidents. Robbery declined 27%, which equals 172,000 fewer robberies across the country.
Property crime also saw a sharp decline of 19%. This translates to roughly 3.4 million fewer property crimes in 2025. Burglary and trespassing dropped 25%, while motor vehicle theft fell 29%. The Justice Department noted these are the biggest one-year decreases ever recorded in the survey.
The White House attributes these gains to strict immigration enforcement policies. Officials say they deported more than 400,000 illegal immigrants who had criminal charges. The administration argues this deterred crime among those who remain in the country. Federal law enforcement also surged into cities like Memphis and Washington D.C.
In Memphis, federal task forces made 13,000 arrests in just one year. They seized over 2,200 illegal firearms and helped cut murders by 37%. The D.C. task force made 6,000 arrests, including 35 murder suspects. These efforts involved close cooperation with state leaders like Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
The Justice Department switched to a redesigned survey format in January 2025. Statisticians warn that these new numbers are not directly comparable to old ones. The survey asks victims about their experiences, unlike FBI data which relies on police reports. This difference explains why the DOJ shows a 31% drop in assault while the FBI reported a 7.2% drop.
Despite the methodology change, the trend matches other data points. The FBI estimated the murder rate hit 4.1 per 100,000 people in 2025. That figure is the lowest murder rate seen in over half a century. The survey confirms that fewer Americans faced heinous crimes last year.
