While investigations unravel criminal enterprises, the nationwide murder rate declined by the most ever recorded in one year.
WASHINGTON—The first year of President Donald Trump’s second term saw historic reductions in violent crimes, while federal arrests soared by 100 percent, according to the FBI.
The 2025 milestones were achieved as a result of a “full-scale reset of the FBI—operationally, culturally, and fiscally,” FBI Director Kash Patel told The Epoch Times.
Murder rates fell by 20 percent nationwide, the largest decline on record, according to statistics released by the FBI on Jan. 22.
Four of the top 10 most wanted fugitives were captured, matching the number detained over the prior four years.
Approximately 1,800 gangs and other criminal organizations were disrupted, marking a 210 percent increase from the prior year, and more than 2,000 kilograms, or around 4,400 pounds of fentanyl—enough of the deadly opioid to kill more than one-third of the U.S. population—were seized.
“The result was the most productive year in modern FBI history, measured by arrests, disruptions, victim recoveries, and taxpayer savings,” Patel said. “That’s what reform looks like, and there’s more to come.”
The improvements came as he oversaw a complete overhaul of the FBI—including the closure of the Hoover Building—and the relocation of its headquarters, expected to save taxpayers approximately $5 billion.
An additional $1.2 billion in savings resulted from a comprehensive audit conducted last year.
“We cut bureaucracy, pushed agents back into the field, delivered accountability, and rebuilt trust with our law enforcement partners,” Patel said.
Restructuring the sprawling agency included the dismissal of some agents perceived to have political bias, balanced by the hiring of 1,422 individuals, including nearly 500 special agents.
Patel refocused the FBI to prioritize crime-fighting and threat-detection operations.
Joint investigations resulted in the recovery of more than 6,000 missing children across the country and the arrest of about 1,700 child predators.
Nearly 4 million accounts operated by pedophiles online were terminated.
Agents investigated 900 percent more children potentially victimized by nihilistic violent extremism—a new class of terrorism that involves the exploitation and harm of children.
The notorious 764 Network—a loosely organized, nihilistic, violent extremist group known to harm animals and children—was targeted, resulting in 20 percent more arrests than in 2024, with the founder sentenced to more than 80 years in prison.
“This should be headline news every day, because the protection of our children is one of our biggest priorities here,” Patel said during an interview with Jan Jekielek, host of Epoch TV’s “American Thought Leaders.“
“We made a huge push this year to protect our children against these online predators, and this is the worst of the worst.”
