The FBI is reporting a significant drop in violent crime both nationally and across North Texas, with new data showing the trend moving in a positive direction heading into 2025.
According to the FBI’s 2025 Crime in the Nation Report, approximately 1.1 million violent crimes were recorded across the United States, reflecting a 9.3% decrease compared to the previous year. The figures cover offenses including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and non-negligent manslaughter.
North Texas mirrored the national trend with a 9% overall decline in violent crime. Murders fell by 12%, robberies dropped 13%, sexual assaults decreased by 7%, and aggravated assaults were down 8%.
Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Rothrock attributed the improvements to stronger collaboration between federal and local law enforcement agencies. He pointed to several joint operations as key contributors to the decline.
One of those efforts was Operation Red Card, a targeted initiative aimed at violent offenders across dozens of cities in North and East Texas ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Rothrock said federal prosecutions stemming from that operation covered everything from narcotics and firearms violations to robberies and kidnappings.
The FBI also expanded its footprint in high-crime areas of Fort Worth through Operation Safe Neighborhood. A separate statewide operation 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 acknowledged limitations in the data, noting that not every law enforcement agency in the country reports to the FBI. Of roughly 19,000 agencies nationwide, about 17,000 participate in the reporting program, making the figures an estimate rather than a complete count.
“This is a good representative sample of the really significant decrease we’ve seen in violent crime across the nation” Rothrock said.
Rothrock also confirmed that the FBI has increased coordination with immigration enforcement agencies over the past 18 months as part of efforts to remove violent criminals who are in the country illegally. When asked whether he credits the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown for the drop in crime, Rothrock stopped short of making a direct connection.
He said the partnership with immigration enforcement is focused on identifying individuals driving violent crime in local communities and that the collaboration will continue as long as it proves effective as a tool against violence.
