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Democratic Mayors Say Community-Based Strategies Are Driving Crime Down
Democratic Mayors Say Community-Based Strategies Are Driving Crime Down

Epoch Times

time13 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Epoch Times

Democratic Mayors Say Community-Based Strategies Are Driving Crime Down

Democratic mayors in several large U.S. cities say violent crime has declined on their watch and credit a mix of policing and community-based strategies for the trend. In a virtual discussion hosted by the Democratic Mayors Association and the Vera Action Institute last week, mayors from Cleveland, Chicago, Baltimore, and Newark described investments in youth employment, mental health services, and violence interruption programs that they say are making neighborhoods safer. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said his administration has pursued an 'all of government' approach since taking office nearly three years ago. 'Since I took office nearly three years ago, we've seen a nearly 46 percent reduction in homicides, while investing in law enforcement, we're also investing in non-violence interventions,' Bibb said. 'And the mayors on the call today from Newark, Chicago, and Baltimore… are seeing the same results in their respective city.' Bibb credited the city's Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone Initiative, expansion of technology such as a camera-sharing program and ShotSpotter gunshot detection, and changes to police recruitment and pay. In February, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an independent law enforcement group representing the police departments of the largest cities in the United States and Canada, issued a report that also showed an across-the-board decline in violent crime in the United States from 2023 to 2024. It also showed that most violent crimes, including homicide, had decreased in Cleveland from 2023 to 2024. However, there were nearly 100 more reported cases of rape in the Ohio city, according to the report.

Early data shows major homicide drops in 2025 so far
Early data shows major homicide drops in 2025 so far

Axios

time4 days ago

  • Politics
  • Axios

Early data shows major homicide drops in 2025 so far

Homicides declined in major U.S. cities — by more than 50% in some communities — during the first six months of the year, according to new data from an organization of law enforcement executives. Why it matters: The stats are the latest signs that violent crime in America is falling from the COVID crime wave, and that drop appears to be accelerating during President Trump's first months in office. The big picture: Violent crime ticked up early in President Biden's term, but reports show it's dropped significantly since then as law enforcement agencies responded to the pandemic surge and adopted more detailed recordkeeping. The recent downward trend in crime also counters Trump's false claims that immigration had sparked rising crime nationwide — a reason he gave for his mass deportation plan. By the numbers: Reports from 68 law enforcement agencies showed a 19% drop in homicides in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). An Axios analysis of the MCCA data found that Denver, Honolulu, Orlando, Portland and Tampa all had a 50% or more decrease in homicides during that period. Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Louisville, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Seattle all had declines in homicides of more than 30%. The intrigue: Aurora, Colorado — a city Trump repeatedly and falsely singled out as being overrun by Venezuelan immigrant gangs during the 2024 election — saw a 16% drop in homicides. Phoenix, another city Republicans claimed was besieged by violent crime because of undocumented immigrants, had an 11% decline in homicides during the first six months of this year. The data from MCCA's self-reported agencies included New York City in this report. Its previous reports didn't have New York City, which saw a 27% drop in homicides. Yes, but: Some communities did see a jump during this period. Boston experienced a 143% surge in homicides during the first six months of 2025. Cincinnati, El Paso, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Mo., and Milwaukee also saw increases, the Axios analysis found. Zoom in: Overall, violent crime appears to be falling in every category. Rape was down 9%, robbery decreased 18% and aggravated assaults fell 10%. What they're saying: "President Trump is delivering on his promise to Make America Safe Again — and the results speak for themselves," White House Assistant Press Secretary Liz Huston told Axios. "The safety of the American people is President Trump's top priority, and he's taking decisive action to protect our communities, including removing dangerous illegal aliens from our streets." The other side: "The only thing the Trump administration deserves credit for is attempting to kneecap Baltimore's progress," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's office said in a statement to Axios. Baltimore saw a 23% decline in homicides. "Earlier this year, the Trump Department of Justice cancelled more than $800 million in violence prevention grants." The mayor's office credited the city's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan and investments in new parks, playgrounds, rec centers, schools and libraries. "These historic lows are the result of a comprehensive public safety strategy that treats gun violence as a public health issue." Zoom out: The quarterly reports from MCCA typically have been a good measure of trends that are reflected in the annual FBI crime data released a year later. What we're watching: Trump has said he will tie federal grants to local police departments based on a requirement that they participate in his plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

After surge during pandemic, homicides fall significantly
After surge during pandemic, homicides fall significantly

Boston Globe

time24-07-2025

  • Boston Globe

After surge during pandemic, homicides fall significantly

Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The findings of the council's study through the first six months of this year largely align with other private sources of data that offer clues to national trends about crime. The FBI has typically provided official nationwide crime data once a year. It last released nationwide statistics in September. Advertisement Overall, the council found that homicide rates fell 17 percent in the first half of the year in 30 cities it tracked in that category. But some of the largest cities, ones with historically high murder rates, posted much larger drops, according to the study. Chicago's rate is down 33 percent compared with the first six months of last year, St. Louis has fallen 22 percent in the same period, and Baltimore is down 24 percent. Advertisement Denver, which in 2021 recorded its highest number of homicides since 1981, had the sharpest decline in its homicide rate among the cities in the sample, down 45 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the study. Boston, which did not submit figures on homicides for this report, has also experienced a decline in murders. The Real-Time Crime Index, published by Jeff Asher, a New Orleans-based crime analyst, tracks a much larger number of cities than the council does. That index, which follows more than 400 police agencies, shows that murders are down 20 percent through May, compared with the same period in 2024. Other violent crimes, such as robbery and aggravated assault, are also down significantly. In contrast to the council's findings, Asher's figures, based on his larger sample of cities, show that aggravated assaults are still higher than just before the pandemic. Gun violence overall has also declined. According to an analysis by Asher based on data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, there are 16.4 percent fewer shooting victims nationally this year through June as compared with the same period last year. In addition, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an organization of police executives from 69 of the largest cities in the nation, reported double-digit declines in four violent crime categories in most of the cities they represent in the first three months of this year as compared with last year. Homicides and robbery were each down 20 percent, while rape fell 14 percent, and aggravated assault was down 11 percent. Advertisement After surging in 2020 and 2021, homicides started to decline in 2022. But in 2023 they fell at what was then the fastest rate in recorded history, and they have been falling even faster ever since. Even shoplifting, which increased last year as cities struggled to deal with retail theft, has fallen by double digits so far this year, according to the council's analysis, which relied on data from 25 cities on that topic. Shoplifting had become a topic of political debates, especially in California, where voters who were frustrated with seeing so many items in stores locked away approved a ballot measure to roll back a major criminal justice reform law and impose tougher penalties for stealing. Criminologists say it's too early to provide definitive explanations for the whipsaw-like shifts in crime of recent years. Adding to the puzzle, say analysts, is that crime has fallen so sharply despite a surge in gun buying during the pandemic, and despite decreases in staffing levels at police agencies. 'Probably in the most simple form, it's simply that the shock waves of the pandemic that contributed to the spike have largely dissipated,' said Adam Gelb, the CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice. This article originally appeared in

Defund movement faces 'absolute rejection' as murders drop and police budgets climb: law enforcement group
Defund movement faces 'absolute rejection' as murders drop and police budgets climb: law enforcement group

Fox News

time30-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Fox News

Defund movement faces 'absolute rejection' as murders drop and police budgets climb: law enforcement group

Some major cities have spent recent years increasing support for their police and saw a drop in homicides, something one law enforcement group says indicates an "absolute rejection" of efforts to defund such as Philadelphia, Denver, Minneapolis and New York City have increased their police budgets and have seen lower homicide rates in the first quarter of 2025, compared with Major Cities Chiefs Association, which compiled data from Jan. 1–March 31 in 2025 and 2024, showed that several cities with increased funding for police also experienced a drop in saw a 28% decrease in homicides year to date, while Minneapolis saw a 54% decrease, and Denver experienced a decrease of almost 59%.CHICAGO ALDERMAN SLAMS THE MURDER CAPITAL'S 'DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE'According to the New York City Police Department, there has been a 28% decrease in murders year to of these cities have something in common: Local lawmakers voted to increase police budgets in 2024, despite pressure from activists who wanted to defund the officials in Minneapolis voted to increase their police budget by 6% in 2024, according to MPR News. New York City also increased funding to its police department in Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who took over the department in November 2024, said in a January op-ed for the New York Post that her focus on recidivism is helping make the city CRIME DROPS IN TOP 10 LARGEST US CITY AS POLICE USE GRIDS TO TARGET WORST OFFENDERS"Make no mistake: These crime reductions were achieved thanks to the hard work and grit of New York's Finest – but we know that many New Yorkers don't feel safe," Tisch said. "Their perception of public safety has become their reality, and we know why: surging recidivism. . . . The deck has been completely stacked against our cops by a shocking lack of accountability for crime."National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith told Fox News Digital that the drop in murders shows that Americans are rejecting the "defund the police" movement."I really do believe that what we are seeing in 2025 is an absolute rejection of the 'defund the police movement,' the 're-imagining police movement.' The law enforcement profession always has room for reform. There is always room for change, but this whole cloth 'let's eliminate the police by defunding them' didn't work. People died because of it, and now the American public is wholeheartedly rejecting it," Smith said. "And the American law enforcement officer sees that."Smith said it shouldn't be a shock that "more police work equals less crime.""Obviously, this is something that we have been talking about for the last five years. And we have, you know, we have been trying to explain to the American public that you do need law enforcement, and when you need law enforcement, law enforcement needs resources. And finally, I think the public, the politicians, the media are catching up with that idea," she said.

Indianapolis crime: A year over year look at homicide data and how we're doing in 2025
Indianapolis crime: A year over year look at homicide data and how we're doing in 2025

Indianapolis Star

time20-06-2025

  • Indianapolis Star

Indianapolis crime: A year over year look at homicide data and how we're doing in 2025

The first half of the year has brought a noticeable trend of several child deaths among homicide numbers, including a 14-year-old found shot dead in the snow, a 2-year-old left alone and neglected inside an apartment, and a 5-year-old choked to death with her father charged in her killing. Each year has its own set of trends, but overall, violence involving guns has remained a constant cause of homicides for the city. According to IndyStar and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police data, however, in the first six months of 2025, there has been a significant dip in year-to-date deaths compared to the past five years. 'This should give our community hope, but we can't do it alone," Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey told IndyStar. "We need our community to continue coming alongside us as we work to make Indianapolis a safer place for everyone. The work continues, and we're not letting up.' Summer officially starts on June 20, and while the warm months usually see more violence in the city, killings are down for the first half of the year compared to the same time last year. Indianapolis is not unique in this, as national trends show violent crime has been down in the first half of 2025, according to the Real-Time Crime Index. Major Cities Chiefs Association data shows homicides this year are down from 2024 in the first three months of the year. While statistics show a downward trend, Bailey said it's not a signal for the department to slow down. Brandon Randall, with Power of Tru Colors, who has worked with at-risk youth and young adults for 18 years, agrees. While there have been success stories, he's seen a few of the kids he's worked with die from violence. "Because the homicide numbers are down, there's a lack of urgency," Randall told IndyStar. "There is still a gun access problem with young people and adults. But I think there are more intentional conversations being had on the root causes of violence. It boils down to trauma, mental health, and poverty." IndyStar's data below captures the year-to-date homicides for the first few months over the past five years. In other news: Is there a serial killer in Indianapolis? What police are saying about 4 bodies found There were 15 homicides in January. Most are shooting deaths, but one woman died from asphyxia after being beaten with a hammer, and a toddler died from exposure due to being neglected. There were 11 homicides in February. Most are shooting deaths, except one woman died from blunt force trauma after being beaten to death. There was also one officer-involved shooting death that occurred. There were 14 homicides in March. Most were shooting deaths, except for one man who died from a stabbing. Summer program for youth: IMPD accepting applications for its weeklong Teen Academy There were 8 homicides in April, and all of them were shooting deaths. There were 12 homicides in May. Most were shooting deaths, except one victim who was stabbed, another who died after being hit by a vehicle, and 5-year-old Zara Arnold, who died from asphyxia after being choked. As of June 20, 2025, at 8 a.m., there have been two homicides in June, and both were shooting deaths. IndyStar is tracking homicide data for 2025

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