By Jorge Casuso
August 18, 2026 -- Data released by the FBI Friday indicates violent crime nationwide saw its largest year-to-year decline last year, a trend reflected in Santa Monica, according to an analysis of crimes reported in 2025.
Data reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program showed violent crime decreased 9.3 percent from 2024 to 2025, the biggest one-year drop since FBI estimations began in 1936, the agency reported.
In Santa Monica, violent crime fell by 12.5 percent last year, reaching the lowest level in at least a decade, according to the Police Department's annual crime report released in March.
Law enforcement experts caution that there is little agreement on the reasons for the historic decrease and that the drop in reported crime is countered by an increase in the U.S. Department of Justice's 50-year-old National Crime Victimization Survey, a representative sample of households that saw a 44 percent increase in rates of violent crime in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Criminal Justice experts point to a number of factors that can explain the decrease in violent crime -- from increased law enforcement efforts and community violence intervention programs to people spending more time at home using technology and an increase in the number of individuals with criminal records being detained and deported.
Santa Monica police attribute the local drop to "an increase in officer-initiated activity and earlier intervention, rather than reliance on reactive response," according to SMPD's annual crime report.
While Santa Monica, with a population of some 93,000, is a major visitor destination and job center that sees its daytime population swell, its percentage drop in violent crimes reported was comparable to, if not steeper than, the national crime rate.
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Larceny, which accounted for 63 percent of all serious crime, dropped from 2,927 incidents reported in 2024 to 2,654 incidents reported last year, a -9 percent decrease. That compares with a -10 percent decrease in the larceny rate nationwide -- from 1,274 incidents per 100,000 in 2024 to 1,144. incidents.
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Robbery incidents in Santa Monica dropped from from 188 to 142, a -24 percent decrease, while the nationwide robbery rate fell -19 percent, from 61 incidents per 100,000 to 49 incidents.
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Burglary, which represented the second largest number of violent crimes reported in Santa Monica, fell from 742 incidents in 2024 to 593, a -20 percent decrease, compared to the -16 percent decrease nationwide, from a rate of 231 incidents per 100,000 to 194 last year.
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Aggravated assaults in Santa Monica were down from 378 incidents reported in 2024 to 329 last year, a -13 percent decrease, compared an -8 percent drop in the aggravated assault rate nationwide, from 258 incidents per 100,000 to 238 incidents.
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The number of rapes reported in Santa Monica decreased from 45 to 39, a -13 percent drop, compared to the rape rate nationwide, which decreased -8 percent, from 39 per 100,000 in 2024 to 36 last year, while
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The number of murders in Santa Monica decreased from 6 to 4, a -33 percent decrease, compared to a 20 percent nationwide decrease in the murder rate from 5 per 100,000 to 4.
Adam Gelb, CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, said the much-touted drop in homicides -- the lowest rate in 70 years -- "is historic and crystal clear," after drug overdose deaths and murders surged during the coronavirus emergency.
"But right now, what's driving it is about as clear as a glass of milk," Gelb added. "Rates are falling in cities with very different public safety strategies, economic conditions, and political leadership.
"The consistency across the map should make us cautious about handing credit to any one leader, party, policy, or program before the evidence catches up."
According to the FBI, more than 17,000 state, county, city, tribal, and university and college agencies, covering a combined population of 96.2 percent inhabitants, submitted data to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.