Atlanta Police Chief outlines 2025 crime trends as homicides and shootings decline, robberies rise

City crime picture in 2025 shows broad declines alongside increases in several violent categories

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum has presented updated 2025 crime figures showing continued year-to-date reductions in several major indicators of violence and property crime, while warning that some serious offenses have risen compared with the same period in 2024.

In a mid-May briefing at police headquarters, the department reported 30 homicides investigated in 2025 through early May, compared with 46 during the same stretch in 2024. Over the same timeframe, non-fatal shootings were reported down 27%, and thefts from vehicles down 17%. The department’s overall crime measure was reported down 11% year-to-date at that point.

At the same time, APD reported increases in several violent-crime categories during that early-May snapshot: robberies up 31%, reported rapes up 24%, and aggravated assaults up 24% compared with the year-to-date comparison point in 2024.

Earlier 2025 reporting showed similar direction, with variations by zone

Separate department reporting in late March described an overall 18% year-to-date reduction in “Group A” crimes through March 22, 2025, alongside a 16% decrease in homicides (21 in 2025 compared with 25 in 2024 over the same period). The same late-March data indicated property crimes were falling more sharply than some violent categories, while aggravated assault and sexual assault counts were higher year-to-date.

Zone-level summaries in that reporting highlighted uneven patterns across the city, with some areas recording significant overall declines but notable increases in particular offenses such as robbery or aggravated assault. The department also reported large decreases at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in overall incidents during the same year-to-date window.

Vehicle theft cited as a major driver of overall crime reductions

In the first five months of 2025, the department’s figures also pointed to substantial improvements in motor-vehicle theft, a category that has weighed heavily on citywide totals in recent years. In a May 13 comparison, vehicle theft was reported falling from 1,347 cases by May 2024 to 790 by the comparable point in 2025.

Later, at a June 18 public safety briefing, city officials described additional declines in homicides, shootings, and car thefts compared with the prior year and noted more than 1,400 firearms had been seized year-to-date.

What officials emphasized and what remains unresolved in the data

• APD attributed broad reductions to a combination of enforcement, targeted initiatives, and resource allocation, including measures aimed at reducing vehicle theft.
• Officials also highlighted that mental-health-related calls continue to place heavy demand on patrol resources.
• The department’s reporting has not provided a single, verified explanation for why certain violent offenses rose even as homicides and shootings declined.

Atlanta’s year-to-date 2025 picture shows declines in the most lethal forms of violence alongside increases in other serious violent crimes, underscoring the need to assess offense-by-offense trends rather than relying on a single headline number.

APD has indicated it will continue publishing periodic updates as 2025 progresses, with city leaders framing the data as a basis for adjusting deployment and prevention strategies in the months ahead.