The FBI is reporting a significant drop in violent crime both nationally and across North Texas, with new data showing a 9.3% decline in reported violent offenses throughout the country in 2025 compared to the previous year.
The agency’s 2025 Crime in the Nation Report recorded approximately 1.1 million violent crimes nationwide, encompassing murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and non-negligent manslaughter. North Texas mirrored the national trend with a 9% overall reduction in violent crime.
Breaking down the regional numbers, North Texas saw a 12% drop in murders, a 13% decline in robberies, a 7% decrease in sexual assault cases, and an 8% reduction in aggravated assaults. Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Rothrock attributed the improvements to stronger collaboration between federal and local law enforcement agencies.
One major initiative was Operation Red Card, a targeted enforcement effort aimed at violent criminals across dozens of cities in North and East Texas ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Rothrock said the operation resulted in federal prosecutions covering narcotics, firearms violations, 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 that the statistics carry limitations. Roughly 17,000 of the nation’s 19,000 law enforcement agencies report data to the FBI, meaning the figures represent a strong but incomplete picture of actual crime levels. The numbers also reflect only crimes reported by victims and subsequently submitted to the FBI.
When asked whether the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts deserve credit for the crime decline, Rothrock stopped short of making a direct political connection. He confirmed that the FBI has increased its coordination with immigration agents over the past 18 months with a focus on identifying violent offenders who are in the country illegally.
“If that’s a tool that helps us to address violent crime then we’ll continue to use it” Rothrock said. He emphasized that the primary goal remains identifying and removing dangerous individuals from communities regardless of the method used.
The FBI said it views the data as a meaningful indicator of progress but stressed that sustained partnerships between agencies at every level will be essential to maintaining the downward trend in violent crime.
