Houston violent crimes down, mirroring nationwide trend
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Homicides and other violent crimes slightly declined during the first six months of the year in Houston, according to new data from an organization of law enforcement executives.
Why it matters: Reports from major law enforcement agencies and new FBI numbers released this week show violent crime could be heading to modern record lows nationwide — including in border cities.
- Crime consistently ranks high among Houstonians' concerns.
By the numbers: Houston saw a 5% dip in homicides in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024, according to stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA).
- Robberies decreased nearly 19%, aggravated assaults fell by over 16% and rapes by about 18%.
The big picture: The U.S. had a violent crime rate of 359.1 per 100,000 residents last year, the FBI said. Violent crime in border cities also fell.
- It's the lowest violent crime rate the nation has had since 2014, when it was 372.4 per 100,000 residents, an Axios analysis found.
What they're saying: "As the pandemic receded, criminal justice experts fully expected crime to decline," Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, tells Axios.
- Rahman says the crime drops occurred even while police staffing levels have declined in the past five years by around 5% nationwide.
- "What's driving these unprecedented gains in community safety is the government investment in community infrastructure from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act."
Zoom in: The Houston Police Department remains short of full staffing, but after years of recruitment struggles, its newest academy class jumped to 79 cadets — 45 more than the previous class — following the July start of a new contract.
Follow the money: The 2024 year-end data follows the Justice Department's April cancellation of $820 million in grants that had supported over 550 organizations focused on crime prevention research and services.