Violent crime in the US dropped 4.5% last year, FBI data shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Violent crime in the United States fell 4.5% last year, according to a new FBI report, which also shows an 8% drop in property crime from the year before.

The FBI statistics released Tuesday show murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in the U.S. in 2024 fell nearly 15% from a year earlier, continuing a decline that’s been seen since a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike. Reported hate crimes decreased 1.5%, according to the report.

Despite that slight decrease, last year’s hate crime totals were the second highest reported by the FBI in the more than 30 years it has been collecting data, according to Brian Levin, founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and professor emeritus at California State University, San Bernardino.

Crime surged during the coronavirus pandemic, with homicides increasing nearly 30% in 2020 over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records. Violent crime across the U.S. dipped to near pre-pandemic levels around 2022.

The FBI collects data through its Uniform Crime Reporting Program, and not all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. participate. The 2024 report is based on data from more than 16,000 agencies, or more than 86% of those agencies in the FBI’s program. The agencies included in the report protect more than 325 million people across the U.S.