Violent crime in major US cities has dropped by 6% in the first half of this year compared with last year, according to newly released preliminary data.
The preliminary data, collected from 69 major US cities and published by the Major Cities Chief Association, shows that overall, violent crime dropped during the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Homicides fell by 17%, according to an analysis by Axios.
Those numbers arrives as polls show that reducing crime is a top priority for many American voters. And as the 2024 election nears, a drop in violent crime undermines a frequent Republican talking point that higher crime plagues cities run by their Democratic opponents.
The Republican nominee, the former president Donald Trump, has frequently accused Democrats of being weak on crime and portrayed himself as the one who will bring law and order, despite having been convicted in May of 34 felonies in connection with falsified business records involving hush-money payments to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
While final, audited data is unavailable until next year, the preliminary data for the first six months of 2024 shows that 54 of the 69 major cities included in the report overall displayed declines in violent crime compared to the first half of last year. The report defines violent crime as homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
The city that saw the largest decline in violent crime was Columbus, Ohio. Violent crime there was down 41% from last year, according to Axios.
Miami and Washington DC have also seen 29% declines in violent crime so far this year – while Austin, Texas, saw a 28% drop.
New York City was not included in the Major Cities Cities Chiefs Association’s data because it did not submit the information to the organization. The city releases its data on its own website.
The Axios review found that the number of homicides in the 69 cities fell by more than 17% during the first six months of this year compared to the same time last year. The city of Boston experienced a 78% drop in homicides, and Philadelphia saw a 42% decrease.
As the Trump campaign continues to attack the vice-president and Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, calling her a “pro-criminal extremist”, the White House was quick to argue that it had contributed to the current decline in violent crime in cities across the US.
Joe Biden released a statement on Saturday taking credit for the decline in crime, pointing to his bill, the American Rescue Plan, which the president said “delivered $15bn to cities and states to invest in public safety and violence prevention, keeping cops on the beat while working with community leaders to interrupt and prevent crime”.
“Americans are safer today than when Vice-President Harris and I took office,” Biden said. “We can’t stop now. That’s why I will continue to urge Congress to fund 100,000 additional police officers and crime prevention and community violence intervention programs, and make commonsense gun safety reforms such as a ban on assault weapons.”
The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, also reacted to the new crime statistics, stating that three-and-a-half years ago, the justice department launched “an ambitious strategy to combat violent crime”.
“The justice department’s work together with our partners to drive down violent crime is paying off,” he added. “But our message remains clear: we will not rest until every person and every community is safe from violent crime.”
Data collected and released by the FBI earlier this year showed that during the first three months of 2024 violent crime had dropped by 15% compared to the same period of 2023.
