The U.S. murder rate reportedly continues to fall since spiking during the pandemic.
Following the 2023 trend, when the number of murders fell at the steepest rate ever recorded, this year's statistics show the decline may be continuing, The New York Times reported Monday.
Data from several sources — FBI, cities, and independent researchers — show the number of murders across the country declined sharply for much of 2024, the Times reported.
Detroit, Chicago, and San Francisco are major cities that are seeing a significant reduction in murders, the outlet reported.
Data collected by independent researchers points to a similar or even sharper decline in murders this year as compared with 2023.
"We're seeing large declines in gun violence and shooting," Jeff Asher, an analyst who runs the Real-Time Crime Index, told the Times. "It's not randomness and luck. In most places, it's because there's less gun violence and shooting."
Real-Time Crime Index data, based on reports from law enforcement agencies, showed a nearly 16% decline in murders, through October, from 2023. The FBI's preliminary data for the first half of this year shows an even steeper decline.
However, New York and Washington, D.C., are cities where murders remain above their pre-pandemic levels, though the Big Apple has seen a roughly 7% drop in murders and shootings this year, according to New York Police Department data through mid-December, compared with the same time period last year.
FBI data, though, may raise some skepticism after it was reported early last month that the bureau quietly revised 2022 federal crime data that showed violent offenses rose rather than dropped.
Plus, some law enforcement agencies do not report their numbers to the FBI.
Whatever the accurate murder rate is, U.S. citizens still see crime as a major problem.
A Gallup poll last month showed that 63% of Americans say the crime problem in the U.S. is either extremely or very serious, up from 54% when last measured in 2021.
There also have been recent murders that have garnered much media attention. They include homicides involving the UnitedHealthcare CEO and a woman burned to death, allegedly by an illegal migrant, in a subway. Both of those occurred in New York City.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.