Crime violence decreased nationwide in 2024, but assaults against law enforcement officers reached a 10-year peak.
The FBI's Annual Report on Crime in the United States for 2024 paints a complex picture of public safety in America. While violent and property crimes have reached their lowest levels in decades, assaults on law enforcement officers have seen a troubling increase.
In 2024, violent crime occurred about every 26 seconds on average nationally, and property crime also hit a 20-year low. However, the FBI declined to specify reasons for this overall crime drop, noting it is difficult to identify uniform causes since factors vary by locality and reporting agency.
Despite this general crime decrease, assaults on law enforcement officers have increased significantly. Reported assaults on officers reached a 10-year high of 85,730 in 2024, with 64 felonious killings of officers during the year. This suggests officers face distinct dangers even as general crime rates fall.
The statistics on crime are at odds with comments made by President Donald Trump during his campaign last year, who argued that crime was "way up." However, many Americans still believe crime increased in 2024, but FBI data contradicts this perception, showing crime dropped "in every category and population group."
The drop in 2024 saw property crime decrease by over 8%, and robbery near its lowest rate in the last 20 years. Motor vehicle theft also saw a significant decrease of 19.5% compared to 2023, although it remains higher than it was in the previous decade.
Murders decreased by 14.9% in 2024, and hate crimes decreased slightly by 1.5%. The FBI's Reported Crimes in the Nation, which relies on local law enforcement submitting data to the FBI's federal system, will soon be available on a monthly basis.
Analysts credit government investments in community infrastructure and violence prevention initiatives for some of the crime reductions, though recent cancellations of certain grants related to crime prevention have raised concerns about sustaining these gains.
The FBI is currently conducting an in-depth behavioural analysis study to understand the increase in assaults on officers. Understanding the reasons behind this trend is crucial to ensuring the safety of law enforcement personnel and maintaining public trust.
- The 10-year high of reported assaults on law enforcement officers in 2024 raises concerns about safety in war-and-conflicts, even as overall crime rates, including politics-related crimes and general news, have dropped significantly.
- The decrease in crime rates in 2024, including property crime, robbery, and murders, is not reflected in some people's perceptions, as reported in crime-and-justice news, despite FBI data showing a drop "in every category and population group."
