The report shows a 7.1% decrease in offenses including aggravated assault, murder and burglary compared with the same period last year. Homicides fell about 30% in the third quarter alone and are down nearly 40% year to date, Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.

"I know we have two months to go, and one life is too many, but we really want to continue to go on that trajectory to make Fort Worth one of the safest, if not the safest large city in the country," Garcia said.

Garcia attributed the decline to how the department deploys officers, guided by data analysis and technology rather than intuition alone. "We can't have an officer on every street," he said, adding that leveraging technology is "incredibly important to us."

With more than a million residents, Fort Worth is now reporting lower homicide, robbery and aggravated assault numbers than Dallas and San Antonio, according to the city's figures.

Mayor Mattie Parker credited a partnership between city leadership and the police department. "We've set a foundation to support our police officers, to support our community, recruit, retain the best officers, make sure they have everything they need to do their jobs, and as a result, you're seeing our crime stats go down," Parker said.

City Manager Jay Chapa pointed to community engagement, a priority he said Garcia has carried forward since taking over the department a little more than a year ago. Chapa said Garcia has continued the outreach work of former chief Neil Noakes, keeping residents involved in public safety efforts.

The year-over-year comparisons show sharp changes in crimes against persons and property between 2024 and 2026. For a city adding residents rapidly, the figures offer a measure of reassurance: growth, officials argue, has not come at the cost of safety.