No country provides more opportunities for upward mobility than the United States. The “American Dream” is real, but many Americans can’t achieve their full potential because their neighborhood is plagued by crime, which destroys economic opportunity for generations.
We founded Americans for Public Safety because public safety is a moral obligation, not a political experiment. We support policies and candidates that respect law enforcement, deliver justice to victims, and uphold the Constitution. Despite what some pundits may tell you, more police means less crime.
No one understands this better than President Trump. It’s the reason he prioritized making America safe again during both terms. Through the expansion of opportunity zones, passage of the First Step Act, and his executive actions on public safety in Washington, D.C., the president is turning a page from the previous administration.
The Biden administration saw some of the largest increases in violent crime in our nation’s history. It’s no surprise this occurred at a time when police were leaving the force in droves, as they felt their leaders turned their backs on them.
A survey of nearly 200 police departments by the nonprofit think tank Police Executive Research Forum showed that, from April 2020 through March 2021, departments faced retirement rates 45% higher than the previous 12 months, 18% higher resignations, and a drop in new hiring. Depleted morale was routinely cited. Cities such as Philadelphia were dealing with an officer shortage of roughly 1,500 at the start of 2025.
Some in law enforcement believe that the “pro-police” messaging and action from the Trump administration boosted confidence back into the profession, and data showing dropping crime may point toward that being the case.
On August 11, President Donald Trump signed executive orders to bring a public safety boost to our nation’s capital. These actions brought more police and prosecutors to fight crime, and the numbers suggest it’s working.
The Washington Post analyzed crime data from the 15 days prior to the emergency declaration and 15 days after and found that violent crime decreased 30% while property crime dropped 16%.
When compared to the same period in August 2024, violent crime is down 49%. Car thefts are down 36%, and burglaries are down almost by half. For twelve straight days, the District didn’t see a homicide.
From a national perspective, data from the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice shows that, for the first half of 2025, crime is significantly lower in almost every category as compared to the first half of 2024. For example, homicides are down 17%, meaning 327 fewer victims. While certain categories of violent crime had already been dropping in recent years, these are coming down from some of the largest increases in crime our nation had seen during the previous administration. This is the first year since 2019 that crimes such as homicide, aggravated assault, gun assaults, and carjackings are all below 2019 levels when looking at the first six months of each year.
Credit for this improvement is due first and foremost to our brave men and women serving in law enforcement and the National Guard. Cities have shown that when you support police, create a plan to reduce violent crime that focuses on the highest-risk people and places, and provide the right tools, crime can drop dramatically.
For example, Ohio announced it was granting over $3 million “to help local law enforcement agencies implement violent crime reduction strategies.” Under the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant, $84 million has been awarded since 2021 to pay for overtime for investigations, new technology, and better targeting of “high-crime areas.”
Dallas implemented a Violent Crime Reduction Plan in May 2021 that focused law enforcement’s time on more violent crime-related activity in “hot spots.” In the first three years of the plan, violent crime dropped by 19%, as compared to the previous three years. Areas identified as hot spots saw the biggest reductions of violent crime, down more than 30% compared to the average at these locations the year prior.
YES, VIOLENT SCHIZOPHRENICS SHOULD BE ‘LOCKED UP’
Is this a Trump effect of police feeling more empowered to do their jobs, and would-be offenders being deterred? It’s tough to say, but it’s common sense that any team with high morale performs better, while people who believe they are more likely to be caught and punished are less likely to commit crime. In Trump’s first year as President in 2017, violent crime fell after two years of increases.
Every community deserves to feel safe, and it’s time we have a president who understands what that takes.
Doug Deason is president of Deason Capital Services and Chairman of Americans for Public Safety. Justin Keener is president of Americans for Public Safety.
