NEWARK, N.J. (VINnews) — Violent crime continued to fall in many of the nation’s largest cities during the first half of 2026, according to preliminary data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association, with Newark, New Jersey, posting the steepest decline in homicides among the cities surveyed.

Homicides dropped 17.2% overall across 66 major U.S. law enforcement agencies when comparing January through June 2026 with the same period in 2025, the association reported. Robberies fell 16.6%, rapes declined 6.2%, and aggravated assaults decreased 5.7%. Combined, the four categories of violent crime were down about 8.3%.

Newark recorded the largest percentage decline in homicides. The city saw six homicides in the first six months of 2026, down from 17 in the first half of 2025 — a drop of 64.7%, according to the data. Raleigh, North Carolina, posted a similarly sharp reduction.

The Council on Criminal Justice, analyzing data from a sample of large cities, reported a comparable trend, with homicides down about 18% in the first half of the year and overall crime continuing a multi-year decline that began after peaking around 2020–2022.

CBS Evening News highlighted the national trend and Newark’s results in a recent report, noting that violent crime numbers are down across many major U.S. cities and that Newark saw the largest homicide decline among those tracked.

Officials caution that the figures are preliminary and not final FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. Local factors such as policing strategies, community programs, and broader national trends have been cited by city leaders and researchers as contributing to the reductions, though experts note that explanations remain complex and vary by location.

The declines build on earlier drops reported in 2025 and continue a broader pattern of falling violent crime in many urban areas since the post-pandemic spike.