Violent crime fell significantly across the United States and in the North Texas region over the past year, according to new data released by the FBI. The agency’s 2025 Crime in the Nation Report recorded approximately 1.1 million violent crimes nationally, reflecting a 9.3% decline compared to the previous year.
North Texas mirrored the national trend, posting a 9% overall drop in violent crime. Specific categories showed notable improvement, including a 12% decrease in murders, a 13% drop in robberies, a 7% reduction in sexual assaults and an 8% decline in aggravated assaults.
Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Rothrock attributed the progress to stronger collaboration between federal and local law enforcement agencies. He pointed to several targeted operations as key contributors to the downward trend.
One major initiative was Operation Red Card, a coordinated enforcement effort that swept through dozens of cities across North and East Texas ahead of the FIFA World Cup. The operation focused on violent offenders and resulted in federal prosecutions ranging from narcotics and firearms violations to robberies and kidnappings.
The FBI also expanded its presence in high-crime areas of Fort Worth through Operation Safe Neighborhood. A separate statewide effort called Operation Soteria Shield brought together 90 agencies over the course of a month to target child predators, resulting in 270 arrests and the rescue of more than 80 children.
Rothrock was careful to note the limitations of the data. The report is based on crimes reported by victims and then submitted to the FBI by participating agencies. Of the more than 19,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide roughly 17,000 contribute data to the program making the findings a strong but not complete picture of national crime trends.
Rothrock also acknowledged a growing partnership between the FBI and federal immigration enforcement over the past 18 months. The collaboration has focused on identifying individuals in the country illegally who are suspected of driving violent crime in local communities.
When asked whether the crime reduction could be directly tied to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown Rothrock stopped short of making that connection. He said the partnership is focused on identifying dangerous individuals regardless of the mechanism used to remove them from communities and that the FBI intends to continue using every available tool to address violent crime.
