Most violent crime continues to drop in San Diego
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Violent crime in San Diego dropped in 2025 in all but one major category, according to new police data reviewed by Axios.
The big picture: Crime rates, particularly homicides, have been dropping locally and across major U.S. cities for years following a COVID-era crime wave.
Zoom in: Homicides in San Diego fell 19% from 2024 to 2025, per preliminary data analyzed by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which examined statistics for 67 of the nation's biggest police departments.
- Robberies decreased by 11% and aggravated assaults by 4%.
- But rapes increased 9%.
Zoom out: Nationally, cities report that homicides overall fell 19%, robberies dropped about 20%, aggravated assaults were down nearly 10% and rapes declined by about 9%.
- San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento police reported declines across the board.
State of play: Last year's sharp declines in violent crime across America's biggest cities defy President Trump's reasons for deploying federal troops to places like Chicago, Portland and Washington, D.C.
- In response to early reports that crime was dropping to record lows, the Trump administration changed its tone and began touting the declines while crediting its policies.
The bottom line: Experts aren't sure why violent crime continues to fall.
- One study suggested that the homicide surge of 2020 was driven largely by men and teen boys who were either laid off or saw their schools close during pandemic shutdowns.