By VDC staff

Criminal victimization in the United States saw significant year-over-year decreases in 2025, marked by steep drops in property crime, motor vehicle theft, and aggravated assault, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

The preliminary report from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) highlights substantial improvements across major crime categories compared to the previous year

Violent crime down 25%, excluding simple assault

The rate of violent crime excluding simple assault declined by 25%, falling from 9.9 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 2024 to 7.4 per 1,000 in 2025. Total incidents in this category dropped from approximately 2.83 million in 2024 to 2.16 million in 2025.

Key improvements in violent crime include:

Aggravated Assault: Experienced a 31% decrease, falling from 4.5 per 1,000 persons in 2024 to 3.1 per 1,000 in 2025. Total aggravated assault victimizations dropped from nearly 1.30 million to 906,590.

Robbery: Decreased from 2.2 per 1,000 persons in 2024 to 1.6 per 1,000 in 2025 (falling from 626,420 to 453,870 victimizations).

Rape and Sexual Assault: Decreased from 3.2 per 1,000 persons in 2024 to 2.8 per 1,000 in 2025 (falling from 910,530 to 804,180 victimizations).

Total Violent Crime: Overall violent victimizations dropped from 28.7 per 1,000 persons (8.21 million total) in 2024 to 25.7 per 1,000 persons (7.50 million total) in 2025. Simple assault rates remained relatively stable at 18.3 per 1,000 persons in 2025 compared to 18.8 per 1,000 in 2024.

Property crime plummets nationwide

American households experienced widespread relief from property crimes in 2025, as the overall property victimization rate declined by 19%, dropping from 138.0 per 1,000 households in 2024 to 111.2 per 1,000 in 2025. Total household property victimizations fell from 18.37 million to 14.89 million.

Every tracked category of property crime posted notable year-over-year gains in safety:

Motor Vehicle Theft: Plunged 30%, from 8.9 per 1,000 households in 2024 to 6.3 per 1,000 in 2025, with total stolen vehicles falling from nearly 1.19 million to 841,130.

Burglary and Trespassing: Decreased 25%, falling from 14.0 per 1,000 households in 2024 to 10.5 per 1,000 in 2025. Burglary alone fell from 9.7 to 7.6 per 1,000 households, while trespassing fell from 4.4 to 2.9 per 1,000.

Other Household Theft: Dropped 19%, falling from 104.6 per 1,000 households in 2024 to 85.2 per 1,000 in 2025.

Vandalism: Recorded a rate of 9.2 per 1,000 households in 2025, down from 10.4 per 1,000 in 2024