Crime

The president said that urban crime rates instigated a public safety emergency and that federal troops would “reestablish law, order and public safety.”

“It’s becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

However, Krasner pushed back on the president’s claim that he was motivated by violent crime.

“This is a city that right now, much like Washington, D.C. and other major American cities, is enjoying historic lows in crime,” he said, citing statistics released by the Philadelphia Police Department. “Any National Guardsperson the president puts in harm’s way for no good reason, is placed in a position to cause problems rather than solve them during a period of historic low crime.”

According to data from the Philadelphia Police Department, the number of homicides as of Aug. 11 has fallen to 138 — representing a 17.4% drop compared to the same period last year, when there were 167. Total violent crimes are down nearly 7.7%, and property crimes have declined by about 7.2%.

If the trend continues, Philadelphia could see its fewest homicides since the early 2010s, a significant shift from the pandemic-era peak of 562 homicides in 2021.

The city experienced its largest annual homicide drop in decades, with 268 homicides in 2024, which marked a 35% reduction from the prior year. Police recorded fewer than 1,090 shootings, the lowest in at least 10 years. Additionally, data show a 36% decrease in homicides, a 36% drop in shootings and an 18% reduction in robberies.

Philadelphia’s plunge in violent crime reflects a national trend. A recent analysis attributes part of this decline to the diminished disruptions of the pandemic, renewed community programs and targeted policing efforts. The national homicide rate reportedly fell by 12% in 2023, 14% in 2024 and is projected to drop another 20% in 2025.

Peter Andrews, who prosecuted Jan. 6 cases in his previous role as assistant U.S. attorney during the Biden administration, works for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. He said that the president’s actions show it’s not about crime at all.

“The fact that the president would on the one hand pardon those defendants and then turn around and say, as he has said this week, that committing an offense against a law enforcement officer will be met with the strongest possible response — it’s not just hypocritical, it reveals that the president does not understand the rule of law,” he said. “He believes that there’s one rule if you support him and one rule if you do not.”