Many mayors of major cities in the U.S. think that juvenile crime is a “serious” problem, according to a survey released Thursday.
A U.S. Conference of Mayors survey of 60 mayors from 28 states found that 59% of respondents said that juvenile crime is a “serious or very serious” issue, Politico first reported on Thursday. Respondents said that crimes involving juveniles, shootings, homicides and robberies were the biggest crime-related issues the cities are facing, according to the survey.
The crimes juveniles were most often involved in were related to car thefts, crimes involving firearms, retail theft, and disturbing the peace, according to the survey. Still, the survey showed that in 86% of the cities, violent crime is down so far in 2025.
“The results of this survey further demonstrate that crime is coming down significantly in cities across America,” U.S. Conference of Mayors President and Republican Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in a statement. “Having said that, the work is never done, and the federal government can be a partner in further reduction. In fact, we have a lot of great examples through the years of how that local and federal partnership can work.”
“Coordinated and collaborative support for increased law enforcement presence on our streets can certainly be part of any effort, but a major reason for our recent success has been local commitment to programming that does the work of intervention and prevention,” Holt continued. “The federal government can be a partner in supporting those intervention and prevention programs, especially programs that work with young people.”
Republican Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said in a statement that “we must continue to reduce crime in a manner that builds trust, including strategic engagement between the federal and local government.”
The survey comes amid President Donald Trump spearheading an effort to reduce crime in Washington, D.C. and other blue cities. While several Democrats have been publicly criticizing the Trump administration’s crime crackdown, some recent polls have shown that many Americans approve of Trump’s approach to handling crime.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday found that 40% of voters believe that Republicans have a better plan on crime, while just 20% of respondents said Democrats had the better plan.
Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Sept. 5 that he thinks many Democrats opposing the president’s crime crackdown efforts have “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Clyde added that Democrats in the nation’s capital are “supporting the criminals,” while Republicans and Trump “are supporting law-abiding citizens.”
The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ survey was conducted from Sept. 4 to Sept. 15, 2025, by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. A total of 60 cities from 28 states responded.
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