by Mona Mahadevan The New Haven independent
Source: New Haven Police Department
One more person died by homicide in New Haven in 2025 than in 2024, while all other categories of crime were down year over year.
Those were among the crime statistics announced during a press conference at police headquarters on Wednesday, as Mayor Justin Elicker and Acting Chief David Zannelli described a multi-year trend of declining crime from the city’s pandemic-era peak.
The annual year-in-review press conference marked the first one led by Zannelli since the abrupt retirement of former Police Chief Karl Jacobson, who reportedly admitted to stealing $10,000 from the department’s confidential informant fund.
On Wednesday, Zannelli and Elicker presented data showing a 23.9 percent decline in overall crime from 2024. The trend is especially pronounced for violent offenses — such as rape and aggravated assault — which saw 257 fewer reports year over year.
Amid the city’s 40 percent reduction in violent crime and the nation’s overall decrease in homicides, the number of murder victims in New Haven rose from 15 to 16.
Property crime offenses, meanwhile, dropped by 22.6 percent. Instances of vehicle theft fell from 1,033 to 708, nearing pre-pandemic levels.
New Haven’s falling crime rate reflects a nationwide decline in violence and theft following the pandemic-era surge in crime. Experts attribute the reduction in both violent and non-violent crime to a wide range of pandemic-related stresses continuing to subside.
In New Haven, instances of major crime — which include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft — have dipped below pre-pandemic levels, from 2,321 in 2019 to 1,346 in 2025. Each sub-category is down relative to 2019, excluding motor vehicle thefts and homicides. (There were 19 more reports of motor vehicle theft and four more instances of homicide in 2025 than in 2019).
“We are experiencing ten-year lows in several areas, including non-fatal shootings, robbery, aggravated assaults, and confirmed shots fired,” said Zannelli on Wednesday. He attributed those improvements to more community members providing “vital information” to police officers, as well as the department’s expanded “technological capabilities,” including “more cameras,” “plate readers,” and “drones.”
Zannelli also highlighted prevention efforts, done in partnership with Project Longevity, CTVIP, and Clergy Academy, among others.
“While we have a lot more work to do, we are continuing to make significant progress in reducing crime across” the city, said Elicker. He commended New Haven’s 44 percent decline in reported gun violence, coming even with the expansion of ShotSpotter, which detects instances of gunfire.
He also highlighted progress on non-violent offenses, including efforts to address illegal ATVs and dirt bikes. In 2025, Elicker said the city seized 183 off-road vehicles and crushed 70.
Even with the reduction in overall crime, the mayor emphasized, “We are not taking a victory lap.” The goal of the press conference is to “congratulate” officers for their hard work and note the city’s “significant progress” towards improving safety, while remembering that “we have a lot more to do.”
Like Zannelli, the mayor also commended the city’s “holistic” approach to addressing crime, including Elm City COMPASS, which responded to 1,675 calls for service. Elicker said the police department received 103,576 calls for service in 2025, equating to 283 calls per day.
He also stressed that, contrary to the Trump administration’s statements, New Haven’s reduction in crime is not due to an increase in immigration enforcement.
President Trump’s “reasoning is ridiculous,” said Elicker. He is “trying to defund our police,” citing New Haven’s pending lawsuit against the Trump administration for cutting the city’s public safety funding.
“President Trump patting himself on the back for [this], along with all the other things he claims to do that have nothing to do with him, is a lie to the American people,” he continued. “Crime is down because there are people locally across the nation that are working very, very hard to ensure that our cities and towns are safe.”