# National violent crime drops sharply; local picture mixed  
**Published:** 2026-05-20T17:51:56.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/20/repub/preliminary-fbi-data-shows-a-sharp-drop-in-violent-crime/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/national-violent-crime-drops-sharply-local-picture-mixed

The United States experienced a sharp decline in violent crime during 2025, with [preliminary FBI data showing murders down an estimated 18.1%](https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-historic-early-look-at-annual-crime-data) and an overall violent crime drop of 9.3% compared to 2024, according to the [Nebraska Examiner reporting on findings from Stateline](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/20/repub/preliminary-fbi-data-shows-a-sharp-drop-in-violent-crime/).

The improvement includes significant decreases across major crime categories: robbery declined 18.5%, aggravated assault fell 7.2% and reported rapes decreased 7.6%. Property crime also saw improvement, falling an estimated 12.4%. The FBI estimates based on data submitted by more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies covering about 96% of the U.S. population.

If the preliminary figures hold, the homicide rate could reach its lowest level on record nationally. "The estimates are based on data submitted by more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies covering about 96% of the U.S. population," the FBI said in its report.

However, the national trend does not uniformly reflect local conditions. [In Lincoln, violent crimes rose nearly 32% compared to 2024](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/lincoln-police-department-annual-report-reveals-increase-in-violent-crime-overall-crime-down-for-3rd-straight-year/), despite the city reaching a 20-year low in overall crime. [Property crimes in the capital city fell 14.1% compared to 2024](https://nebraska.tv/news/local/lincoln-is-seeing-a-drop-in-serious-crime-thats-according-to-new-2025-data), suggesting the national property crime improvements are being reflected locally.

Police Chief Michon Morrow noted that mental health calls to the Lincoln Police Department increased 7.4% in 2025, totaling 4,210 calls. [The department highlighted its Co-Responder Program with nonprofit health care organization CenterPointe, which responded to 366 calls in 2025](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/lincoln-police-department-annual-report-reveals-increase-in-violent-crime-overall-crime-down-for-3rd-straight-year/). Additionally, cryptocurrency scams remain a concern in the city.

The FBI's data collection system is now transitioning to [the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which now covers nearly 90% of the population and became the national standard in 2021](https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-historic-early-look-at-annual-crime-data). The early estimates align with previous projections from the Council on Criminal Justice, which in January forecasted that 2025 may have had the lowest homicide rate in more than a century.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/20/repub/preliminary-fbi-data-shows-a-sharp-drop-in-violent-crime/)
- [FBI's preliminary data on 2025 crime trends](https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-historic-early-look-at-annual-crime-data)
- [Lincoln Police Department 2025 annual report on violent crime increase](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/lincoln-police-department-annual-report-reveals-increase-in-violent-crime-overall-crime-down-for-3rd-straight-year/)
- [Lincoln crime statistics and staffing improvements](https://nebraska.tv/news/local/lincoln-is-seeing-a-drop-in-serious-crime-thats-according-to-new-2025-data)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/20/repub/preliminary-fbi-data-shows-a-sharp-drop-in-violent-crime/.