US Cities Cut Homicides 17.3% in 2026 as Memphis Violent Crime Drops 29%
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Nov 15
US Cities Cut Homicides 17.3% in 2026 as Memphis Violent Crime Drops 29%
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 15
Summary
A survey of 66 major U.S. law enforcement agencies found homicides fell 17.3% from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30 versus a year earlier, with robberies down 13.3%, aggravated assaults 4% and rapes 3.8%.
Memphis posted the biggest overall violent-crime decline at 29%, just ahead of Tulsa, while Indianapolis recorded a 24% drop; Tulsa led homicide reductions with killings down 71%, followed by Aurora at 65% and Newark at 59%.
Police departments tied the declines to targeted enforcement, especially gun-focused task forces and broader deterrence strategies; researchers also pointed to a return to post-pandemic social and economic normalcy.
The drop extended beyond big cities: Polk County, Florida, said index crime has fallen to a 54-year low, which Sheriff Grady Judd credited to tough-on-crime policing and close coordination with prosecutors.