America just got a piece of genuinely good news — and the scale is hard to overstate.
Homicides fell 17.3% across 66 major U.S. law-enforcement jurisdictions during the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
That means 700 fewer reported homicides in the cities and counties covered by the new national snapshot. Robbery, rape and aggravated assault all fell too.
New York City is part of that story. The NYPD says the city has reached historic lows in gun violence and murders while major crime has declined across all five boroughs.
So far this year, the men and women of this department have delivered historic lows in gun violence and murders, and driven major crime down in all five boroughs.
Our strategy is working: go after gangs, take guns off our streets, and put cops where they are needed the most. pic.twitter.com/KxyB5K0bPM
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 9, 2026
The updated Major Cities Chiefs Association report compares preliminary data from January 1 through September 30. It records 3,347 homicides in 2026, down from 4,047 during the same period in 2025.
The other categories moved in the same direction: rape fell from 21,258 to 20,456, robbery from 64,362 to 55,786, and aggravated assault from 196,774 to 188,912.
Taken together, those four categories dropped from 286,441 reported offenses to 268,501 — exactly 17,940 fewer violent crimes, or a 6.3% decline.
The declines were broad, but they were not uniform. Aurora, Colorado, recorded eight homicides after 23 during the comparable period last year, while Newark, New Jersey, fell from 22 to nine.
Tulsa reported the sharpest percentage drop, although the report warns that the city changed crime-reporting systems during the comparison period. Houston was excluded because its own records-system transition left it without comparable data.
Axios calculated that 52 of the 66 reporting agencies posted an overall decline. Its corrected review found homicide drops in 50 jurisdictions, increases in 14, and no change in two.
Memphis posted the largest overall violent-crime decline among the agencies highlighted in that review, down roughly 29%. Its police department says the turnaround in gun violence has required focused enforcement, partnerships and a willingness to change tactics.
What does it take to change the direction of gun violence in a city?
For Memphis, it takes a coordinated effort, strong partnerships and a willingness to approach the problem differently.
Through our Gun Violence Reduction Initiative (GVRI) documentary, we’re highlighting the…
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) November 13, 2026
Indianapolis also stands out. The MCCA table shows homicides falling from 125 to 83, while robbery and aggravated assault both declined substantially.
Those numbers do not happen because criminals suddenly discover better manners. They reflect thousands of cases, arrests, patrol decisions and investigations carried out block by block.
Indianapolis police offered a current glimpse of that work Friday, announcing arrests in three separate violent-crime investigations, including two homicide cases.
𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐃 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬
Three violent offenders are now in jail thanks to the dedicated work of the IMPD Violent Crimes Unit. Detectives have made arrests in three separate investigations, including two homicides and… pic.twitter.com/UrtCkH252T
— IMPD (@IMPDnews) November 13, 2026
The national backdrop makes the latest city data even more striking.
The FBI says the national violent-crime rate fell 9.3% in 2025, the largest one-year drop since the Bureau began estimating crime trends in 1936.
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter fell 18.1%, robbery fell 18.5%, rape declined 7.6%, and aggravated assault dropped 7.2%. The estimated murder rate reached 4.1 per 100,000 people, matching the rate recorded in 1955 and 1956.
Property crime also fell 12.4%. Burglary declined 15.8%, larceny-theft dropped 9.8%, and motor-vehicle theft plunged 22.7%.
The FBI compiled those estimates from more than 17,000 state, county, city, Tribal and university law-enforcement agencies representing nearly 97% of the U.S. population. The Bureau counted 1,119,768 violent offenses nationwide even after the decline.
The newer MCCA report covers a smaller group of major jurisdictions and remains preliminary. Its numbers show the retreat from the pandemic-era crime surge continuing deep into 2026.
No honest person should pretend one president, one mayor or one police chief caused every drop across 66 jurisdictions.
But nobody should wave away the result either.
Fewer murders. Fewer robberies.
Fewer rapes. Fewer aggravated assaults.
Behind those declines are thousands of Americans who were never added to the victim rolls — and a powerful reminder that serious policing, relentless investigations and public cooperation can still move the country in the right direction.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
