FBI Director Says 2025 Murder Rate Will Hit Modern-Era Low in Forthcoming Data

Overview

• Director Kash Patel says the December FBI report will show a double‑digit drop in the 2025 national murder rate to the lowest level in modern history, with final figures still unpublished.
• Official data for 2024 showed murders fell about 14.9% year over year to roughly five per 100,000 people, or about 17,000 deaths.
• Patel reports roughly 30,000 arrests since January, including about 25,000 defendants charged with violent crimes.
• He says espionage arrests are up 40% from last year and describes ongoing efforts to disrupt criminal groups that target children.
• Patel credits redistributing agents from the Washington, D.C., area to field offices for the results, and analyst Jeff Asher previously forecast a record low murder rate for 2025.