Crime numbers fall in Salem, but some rates rise

Salem’s police department says that violent and property crime fell in 2025 compared with the previous year. The drop in violent offences was about 20 percent, and the number of murders went down by more than half. The four killings that happened this year were all solved, a higher clearance rate than the national average of 61 percent. Property crime also went down, with vehicle theft and shoplifting dropping by roughly 16 percent. These changes line up with a national trend of lower crime figures in both categories. The report looks back to 2011 and compares recent data with three‑year and fifteen‑year averages. When compared to the 2022‑2024 average, all major crime types fell by more than a quarter. However, compared with the fifteen‑year average, violent crime was still 11 percent above that long‑term mean while property crime was almost a third lower.The homicide trend is the most striking. In 2025, homicides were about 28 percent below the fifteen‑year average, even though overall violent crime was slightly higher than that long‑term baseline. Population changes also matter: Salem had far fewer residents in 2011 when homicides were only three, so raw counts can be misleading. Looking at rates rather than totals gives a clearer picture. The violent crime rate in 2025 was 4 percent above the fifteen‑year average, while the property crime rate dropped by more than a third. These figures suggest that, although fewer crimes were reported in total, the likelihood of violent crime per person has edged up slightly.