NEWARK, NJ — New Jersey's largest city has also seen the largest nationwide drop in homicides so far this year, a report says.
The Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), a national organization of police executives, recently released its mid-year violent crime survey for 66 large cities in the United States and Canada.
Newark recorded the largest decline in homicides, which dropped 64.7 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Last year, the city saw 17 homicides by this time – this year the number stands at six.
Other mid-year statistics for Newark include:
The MCCA's numbers were cited by the White House, which said the gains have taken place in several "Democrat-run cities."
The Trump administration said the numbers are due to "aggressive surges of federal resources" and National Guard support after "years of soft-on-crime failure."
"President Donald J. Trump's law-and-order agenda is crushing violent crime across America," the White House claimed.
City officials in Newark and local anti-violence advocates are telling a different story, however.
Newark officials credited the recent drop in homicides to a "comprehensive public safety ecosystem" that includes policing, intervention, community partnerships, youth opportunities and neighborhood investment.
"The goal is not only to respond to violence, but to build a community capable of stopping it before it begins," city officials said.
It's a recipe that has been paying dividends in Newark, advocates say.
Last December, city officials announced that Newark has seen its lowest number of murders in more than seven decades. The drop in murders was part of a 19 percent overall reduction in violent crime. Other decreases included robberies (38 percent) and aggravated assaults (14 percent). Rape was the sole violent crime category that increased in Newark last year, going up 2 percent.
Meanwhile, non-violent property crimes such as burglaries, thefts and stolen cars were also down, dropping by about 8 percent overall – largely due to a 19 percent decrease in vehicle thefts.
It's a trend that has been taking shape for decades, FBI data shows.
The following graph from the FBI's crime data explorer shows the overall violent crime rate for Newark between January 1985 and December 2023 (article continues below).
Newark officials have credited part of the turnaround from past decades to a new approach to policing, which views crime and violence as a "public health" issue that needs to be attacked in several ways – not simply making more arrests.
The city recently began diverting some of its policing budget to the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, which runs anti-violence programs and supports local community groups.
A network of more than 40 organizations are now helping to take a new look at crime in Newark – and what causes it.
Nonprofits, groups and community leaders across the city have been tapped in an attempt to address the root causes of violence, reaching out to local youth and holding peace marches across Newark. Meanwhile, city-employed social workers have graduated and taken the field alongside cops, a significant addition in an area where about one in four calls that police get are for "social intervention."
Newark's drop in violent crime mirrors an overall trend in New Jersey. Crime numbers dropped in the Garden State during 2024 – and plunged nationwide, according to statistics from the FBI.
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