Report: Crime mostly down in Raleigh, Charlotte as US crime declines

With some exceptions, crime is down in North Carolina’s major cities, according to mid year report.

Image of police line is CC by Tony Webster.

With certain exceptions, crime was down in Raleigh and Charlotte in 2025, on par with the national trend of declining crime in major cities across the nation, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association’s midyear crime report. Except for homicide in Charlotte and robbery and aggravated assault in Raleigh, crime is down from 2025 in these major cities in North Carolina.

The report compares the numbers from Jan. 1 to June 30 of 2026 and 2025. In Charlotte, homicides are up from the same period in 2025, with 40 on record in the first half of 2026 and 39 during the same period in 2025. Rape is down in Charlotte from 92 in the first half of 2025 to 81 in the first half of 2026. During the first half of 2025, there were 525 robberies on record, compared with only 405 during the same period in 2026. Aggravated assault is down 2,043 during the first half of 2026 from 2,127 in 2025.

In Raleigh, homicides in the first half of 2026 are down to four from 11 during the same period in 2025. Rape is down to 37 in the first half of 2026, from 41 in the same period in 2025. Robberies and aggravated assaults are both up during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. There has been a slight increase in robberies and aggravated assaults in Raleigh. During the first half of 2026 there were 86 robberies in Raleigh compared to 81 during the same period in 2025. Aggravated assault is up to 229 during the first half of 2026 from 220 during the same period in 2025.

“We are very thankful to see a significant drop in homicides in our jurisdiction this year,” the Public Affairs Unit for the Raleigh Police Department told the Carolina Journal in an email. “While there is no single reason for a reduction in violent crime, meaningful progress requires a shared commitment to public safety. We are aware of the slight increase in reported robberies and aggravated assaults compared with the same period last year. While any increase in violent crime is concerning, these changes are relatively modest, and we are closely monitoring the trends.”

In 2025, Charlotte ranked among the top cities in the nation for property crime, which includes robbery. Through the third quarter of 2025, overall crime shows a mixed trend compared to the same period in 2024, according to the press release. Robberies have decreased from 1,046 in 2024 to 821 in 2025, while property crimes have also declined slightly, from 27,974 offenses to 26,522. Residential burglaries fell from 1,322 to 1,239, indicating a modest improvement in that category.

“Despite the slight upticks in a few categories, this is good news, and it’s consistent with what’s happening across the state and across the country,” Jon Guze, senior fellow of legal studies at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “It looks as though the crime wave that started in the early 2010s and peaked in the early 2020s may finally be over.”

While Winston-Salem is not included in the report, it was ranked among the top US cities for crime in 2025.

“We shouldn’t be complacent, however. Crime rates vary from year to year, but they vary much more from community to community,” continued Guze. “For example, murder rates in Fayetteville and Greensboro are typically six or seven times as high as in Raleigh, and there are similar disparities in other categories of crime. Regardless of what happens in the state as a whole, North Carolinians who live in high-crime communities will continue to need enhanced levels of police protection.”

These numbers are on par with the overall trend of declining crime nationwide. According to the report, homicide saw the largest decline, at 17.2%, from the first half of 2025 to the first half of 2026. The next-largest decline was in robbery, at 16.6%, during the same period. Rape declined by 6.2% and aggravated assault by 5.7%.