Crime down in every category in 2024, FBI report says

Crime decreased in every category in 2024, including murder, violent crime and motor vehicle thefts, according to data released by the FBI on Tuesday. It reflects a trend experts have been tracking as reported numbers of violent crimes continue to drop from a spike immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the report included good news, a violent crime still occurred on average every 25.9 seconds in the United States last year, according to the FBI’s annual Unified Crime Report, which compiles crime statistics submitted by law enforcement agencies across the country. This year’s report used data submitted by 16,675 different agencies, which the FBI said covers a combined population of more than 325 million people, or about 95.6% of U.S. residents.

The FBI’s report did not venture to say why the violent crime stats decreased. “It’s difficult if not impossible for us to say why, and each reporting agency would have a different reason why,” an FBI official said Tuesday in response to a question from CBS News during a briefing.

Read more: CBS News