Violent crime fell sharply across the largest U.S. cities in early 2026, extending a nationwide decline that began after the pandemic-era crime spike.
The declines show up across every major region, suggesting a systemic, nationwide trend.
Homicides dropped 17.7%.
Robberies fell 20.4%.
Rapes declined 7.2%.
Aggravated assaults decreased 4.8%.
I remember reading the same headline for Seattle a while ago and then the next day were headlines about how violent crime in the county and neighboring cities has skyrocketed. Also that less people trust the police or are unable to report the crimes. Then there was another about how federal funding for databases were being cut so even less crimes were being submitted.
But yay! Blue cities, no crime! Gentrification is working as expected.
Edit: oh and I forgot there was another headline about how because these stats show less violent crimes the SPD made some moves to cut the civilian crisis prevention team. Shortly after SPD officer involved shootings went up 🫠