Community violence intervention programs and the easing of pandemic disruptions were among the factors most often cited by crime scholars as contributors to the nation’s historic decline in homicides, according to a new assessment by the Council on Criminal Justice. The nonpartisan council surveyed nearly 50 researchers about 48 possible explanations for the decline from 2022 to 2026. The results offer policymakers, including those in Wisconsin, a range of strategies and conditions to consider, but do not establish which factors caused homicide rates to fall in any particular community. Expanded community violence intervention programs — which work directly with people at highest risk of violence — were rated a major or limited contributor by 91% of respondents. The pandemic recovery received support from 83% and was the only factor a majority, 57%, rated a major contributor. Another 83% said focused deterrence likely contributed. The approach targets people or groups at high risk of violence through a combination of social support and law enforcement. Researchers also pointed to local governments’ capacity to provide social services, with 75% rating it a major or limited contributor. The findings come as the estimated U.S. murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate fell 18.1% in 2025 compared with the previous year, to about four killings per 100,000 people. That tied the lowest rate in national estimates, matching rates recorded in 1955 and 1956. Researchers also gave some support to more proactive policing and to an increase in public safety and support resources relative to demand; each was rated a major or limited contributor by 68% of respondents. But the scholars largely rejected more than half of the proposed explanations, including National Guard deployments, increased immigration enforcement and increased pretrial detention. The council stressed that national trends do not mean every community experienced the same change. Cities saw declines despite differing public safety policies, economic conditions and political leadership, making it difficult to credit one approach alone. The survey captures researchers’ professional assessments, and several factors may have overlapped or reinforced one another. Adam Gelb, the council’s president and CEO, said in a news release that weighing competing explanations is important to sustaining the gains. He said the researchers’ work gives the country a clearer picture of what may have contributed, what likely did not and what remains uncertain. The council also cautioned that a strategy judged to have contributed little to the recent decline could still help prevent violence in the future.