US cities largely saw a drop in violent crime in 2024, yet many still feel unsafe As U.S. police departments release preliminary or finalized 2024 crime numbers, many are reporting historic declines in homicides and drops in other violent crimes compared to 2023.
He said the data, which lags by about 45 days rather than being reported quarterly or annually like a lot of crime statistics, allows communities and experts to evaluate and respond to trends as they are happening.
“The presence of even one murder has a great cost,” said Kim Smith, the director of national programs at the University of Chicago's Crime Lab.
"The presence of those crimes is the thing that people get the most distress from, and that has the biggest impact on people being able to enjoy their neighborhood and on quality of life,” she said.
But they say misleading campaign rhetoric in the runup to the November elections and changes in how people interpret news about crime have led to a perception gap.
