Council on Criminal Justice

09/16/2025

President Trump signed an executive order to send the National Guard to Memphis. What’s happening with crime there? We put together a fact sheet examining six-month trends for 10 different crime types.

Here's what we found👇

1️⃣In the first half of 2025, Memphis’s homicide rate was 4% lower than in the first half of 2024 (average change in the 30 study cities was -17%). Memphis's homicide rate was 58% higher in the first half of 2025 than it was in the first half of 2019. The homicide rate in Memphis is among the highest in the study sample and is dropping slower than it is in other large cities.

2️⃣The robbery rate during the first half of 2025 was 18% lower than in the first half of 2024 (average change in the 34 study cities was -20%). Memphis’s robbery rate in the first half of 2025 was 23% lower than in the first half of 2019 (30% lower in the study cities).

3️⃣Memphis’s carjacking rate during the first half of 2025 was 34% lower than in the first half of 2024 (average change in the nine study cities was -24%). Memphis’s carjacking rate in the first half of 2025 was 45% lower than in the first half of 2019 (3% lower in the study cities).

4️⃣In the first half of 2025, Memphis’s domestic violence rate was 3% lower than in the first half of 2024 (average change in nine study cities was +3%). Their domestic violence rate in the first half of 2025 was 7% lower than in the first half of 2019 (8% lower in the study cities).

5️⃣In the first half of 2025, Memphis’s residential burglary rate was 26% lower than in the first half of 2024 (average change in the 18 study cities was -19%). Their residential burglary rate in the first half of 2025 was 49% lower than in the first half of 2019 (47% lower in the study cities).

6️⃣Memphis’s non-residential burglary rate in the first half of 2025 was 18% lower than in the first half of 2024 (average change in the 18 study cities was -18%). Their non-residential burglary rate in the first half of 2025 was 6% lower than in the first half of 2019 (identical in the study cities).

7️⃣In the first half of 2025, Memphis’s larceny rate was 16% lower than in the first half of 2024. The average change in the 36 study cities with data for larceny was -12%. Memphis’s larceny rate in the first half of 2025 was 12% lower than in the first half of 2019, while larceny was 19% lower in the study cities.

8️⃣In a sample of 16 large U.S. Cities with available data from 2018 to 2022, Memphis had by far the highest rate of gun theft in the sample, at 546 per 100,000 people in 2022 (nearly 2x that of Detroit, MI, the city with the next highest rate of gun thefts in 2022, at 297 per 100,000).

9️⃣Memphis’s shoplifting rate in the first half of 2025 was 1% higher than in the first half of 2024 (average change in the 23 study cities was -12%). Their shoplifting rate in the first half of 2025 was 2% lower than in the first half of 2019 (4% lower in the study cities).

🔟Memphis’s motor vehicle theft rate was 36% lower in the first half of 2025 than in the first half of 2024 (average change in the 36 study cities was -25%). Their MVT rate in the first half of 2025 was 100% higher than in the first half of 2019 (25% higher in the study cities).

1️⃣1️⃣Memphis’s drug offense rate in the first half of 2025 was 7% higher in the first half of 2025 than in the first half of 2024 (no difference in the average rates for the 21 study cities). Their drug offense rate in the first half of 2025 was 5% lower than in the first half of 2019 (27% lower in the study cities).

Read more in our new fact sheet on crime in Memphis: https://counciloncj.org/crime-in-memphis-what-you-need-to-know/

The monthly data, both counts and rates, for Memphis and other cities is viewable in the Offense Dashboard at the bottom of our 2025 Mid-Year Crime Trends report: https://counciloncj.org/crime-trends-in-u-s-cities-mid-year-2025-update/ -dashboard

09/16/2025

The Council is grateful to our Keynote Sponsors, The Just Trust and Microsoft, and our Elite Sponsor, Arnold Ventures, for their generous support of our 2025 Member Summit.

Your partnership helps advance thoughtful dialogue and meaningful impact in the criminal justice system. We appreciate your commitment to this important work.

09/15/2025

🌟 A huge THANK YOU to the CCJ members and sponsors who participated in our 2025 Member Summit last week! 🙏

Throughout the event, 200+ leaders explored how to build bridges and find common ground in our polarized times.

️️ Highlights included:

➡️ Plenary sessions with former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch and Alberto R. Gonzales, as well as Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson

➡️ A discussion with Brian Hooks and Ana Zamora on the changing funding landscape

➡️ A grand tour of the “bridging movement” from Kristin J. Hansen at Civic Health Project

➡️ Deep dives into the implications of AI for safety and justice, the federal government’s role in local crime control, perceptions of crime, and much more.

Thank you to all our speakers and presenters. And a big thank you to our sponsors: Microsoft, The Just Trust, Arnold Ventures, DLR Group, and The Navigation Fund.

The Council is honored to bring top leaders together with the common goal of creating safer communities and a more effective criminal justice system. See you at the next Summit!

📷: Stefan A Photography

09/12/2025

NEW: Earlier today, President Trump announced he would deploy the National Guard to Memphis. A new Council fact sheet examines trends for homicide, robbery, gun thefts, and other crimes in Memphis, comparing the first half of 2025 with 2024, 2019, and peak levels. Read more at:

President Trump announced on September 12 that he would dispatch military troops and federal agents to Memphis, TN, in an effort to reduce crime and violence. This brief examines six-month trends for 10 different crime types in Memphis, as well as separate data on gun thefts.

09/10/2025

How can a politically divisive surge evolve into a lasting strategy for safer streets? A perspective from CCJ Chief Policy Counsel Marc Levin and Senior Fellow Thaddeus Johnson in USA TODAY:

Washington, DC, continues to struggle with high rates of homicide and carjacking. A temporary federal surge cannot solve these systemic problems.

09/10/2025

Grounding criminal justice policy debates in facts and evidence is a critical part of CCJ’s mission. Last Friday alone, four different fact checking websites—FactCheck.org, BBC Verify, Snopes.com, and PolitiFact—cited CCJ analyses in stories about crime trends in Chicago.

Read more: https://counciloncj.org/crime-in-chicago-what-you-need-to-know/

09/03/2025

How do perceptions of crime in DC align with what the data tells us? A perspective from CCJ Senior Fellow Thaddeus Johnson and Augusta University Assistant Professor Natasha Johnson in The Washington Post:

In D.C., robberies are much more widespread and common than murders.

09/02/2025

President Trump announced today that the National Guard will be sent to Chicago following a reported spike in crime during Labor Day. What does the data tell us about the city’s crime? Check out the Council’s fact sheet on Chicago crime for the latest:

Two weeks after deploying military troops and federal law enforcement agents to Washington, DC, President Trump said he planned to take similar actions in Chicago, IL. This brief examines trends for 13 different crime types in Chicago going back to 2018.

08/29/2025

CCJ Veterans Justice Commission Director Brigadier General (ret) David MacEwen and Senior Policy Specialist Lindsey Kirchhoff presented at the inaugural meeting of the ALEC Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force last month. MacEwen presented the findings and policy recommendations of the VJC to 60 state legislators and private sector leaders from across the country at the Indianapolis meeting: https://shorturl.at/I9oHq

Learn more about the work of the Council’s Veterans Justice Commission at: https://counciloncj.org/veterans-justice-commission/

08/28/2025

Following the release of the administration’s action plan and executive orders on AI, CCJ’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence examines what this means for criminal justice. As implementation guidance develops, continued monitoring and engagement will be essential to understand the full implications for criminal justice AI governance: https://counciloncj.org/analyzing-the-trump-administrations-ai-action-plan-what-it-means-for-criminal-justice/

Learn more about the Council’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence at: https://counciloncj.org/artificial-intelligence/

Following the release of the administration’s action plan and executive orders on AI, CCJ’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence examines what this means for criminal justice.

08/27/2025

What’s really happening with crime in Chicago? We put together a fact sheet examining 13 different crime types – going back to 2018. Read on to see what we found ⬇️

Overall, Chicago’s crime declines mirror patterns of reported violent crime in other large cities across the country, but the level of violent crime in the city remains substantially higher than the average in our sample, and some property crime levels are still higher than they were before the pandemic.

There were two peaks in homicides between January 2018 and June 2025: July 2020 and July 2021. In June 2025, there was a 65% reduction from the 2021 peak. Between July 2024 and June 2025, Chicago’s homicide rate was 13% lower than it was during the pre-pandemic year of July 2018 to June 2019.

Between January 2018 and June 2025, aggravated assault followed a regular seasonal pattern, with peaks in June, July, and August. The highest summer peak occurred in June 2024. Aggravated assaults then trended down from the peak, and in June 2025, there was a 16% reduction from the June 2024 peak.

Gun assaults peaked in July 2021 at 831 incidents (30.8 per 100,000 residents). In June 2025, there were 485 reported incidents (17.8 per 100,000), a 42% decrease from the July 2021 peak.

Sexual assaults peaked in July 2019 and again in August 2024. In June 2025, there was a 30% decrease from the August 2024 peak.

Robbery peaked in August 2023 and remained near this level through October 2023. In June 2025, there was a 49% reduction from the August 2023 peak.

Carjacking rose sharply during 2020 and peaked in January 2021. In June 2025, there was a 70% drop from the January 2021 peak.

Lethality of violent crime was significantly lower 2022-2024 than during 2020-2021 (peak years of the pandemic). In 2024, lethality was 23% higher than in 2012. After 2020, firearm lethality began to decline, and in 2024, it was 30% lower than in 2012.

From January 2018 to June 2025, domestic violence followed a consistent seasonal pattern, peaking between May and July. In June 2025, the number of reported domestic violence incidents dropped 17% from the May 2024 peak and the lowest June level recorded during the period.

Residential burglary generally declined from 2019 to 2021, then remained mostly flat through June 2025. The highest monthly total occurred in August 2018. In June 2025, there was a drop of 60% from the August 2018 peak.

Non-residential burglary spiked by 469% from April to May 2020 and then fell 78% by July 2020, spiked 138% between July and August 2020, and dropped 65%. In June 2024, an increase began, continuing through June 2025 – the month with the most non-residential burglaries since August 2020.

Larceny trended downward after January 2020 and by 2023, it had generally reached 2018-2019 levels. Larceny peaked in August 2018 with another spike occurring in July 2024. In June 2025, there was a drop of 24% from the July 2024 spike.

Shoplifting fell 65% from January 2020 to April 2020. It then began to increase and reached a peak in July 2024. In June 2025, there was a drop of 21% from the July 2024 peak.

Motor vehicle theft spiked in the second half of 2022. Since October 2023, the MVT rate has generally declined, with a recent upward trend beginning in March 2025. In June 2025, there was a 55% drop from the October 2022 peak and a 28% increase from a recent low in February 2025.

Drug offenses peaked in August 2019. Since April 2020, offenses have remained below 2018-2019 levels. The highest level of drug offenses post-pandemic occurred in January 2025 – a 38% drop from January 2020. In June 2025, there was a 67% drop from the August 2019 peak.

Read more in our new fact sheet on crime in Chicago: https://counciloncj.org/crime-in-chicago-what-you-need-to-know/

The monthly data, both counts and rates, for Chicago and other cities is viewable in the Offense Dashboard at the bottom of our 2025 Mid-Year Crime Trends report: https://counciloncj.org/crime-trends-in-u-s-cities-mid-year-2025-update/ -dashboard

08/26/2025

Meet Task Force on Artificial Intelligence member Roy Austin, Jr., inaugural director of Howard University School of Law's Artificial Intelligence Initiative.

Previously, Austin served as vice president of civil rights at Meta and held several roles during his 20-year tenure in the Department of Justice, including as an honors trial attorney and deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division. Austin developed tech-based initiatives to enhance police accountability and protect civil rights nationwide. As deputy assistant to the president for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice, and Opportunity, Austin also co-authored a report on Big Data and Civil Rights and helped develop the Police Data Initiative.

Austin is a member of CCJ’s Board of Directors and chair of the Board’s Membership Committee.