An independent look at public data · updated October 2026

What does the data actually say about crime in Austin?

2.6 million police reports since 2003, set against national trends, split by neighborhood and type of crime, and used to test one claim in particular: that the Travis County district attorney’s office is driving crime up.

Violent crime in Austin per 100,000 residents, 2003–2026

Murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault, reported to APD. Each point is the rate over the 12 months ending that month. Shading marks each district attorney’s term.

1 · The shape of it

Crime rose after 2019, then fell, and the nation did the same

Violent crime

Per 100,000 residents, 12-month rolling.

Property crime

Burglary, theft (including from vehicles), auto theft, arson. Per 100,000.

2 · What kinds of crime

Crime isn’t one thing, and the categories moved differently

Each tile shows the 2025 rate per 100,000 residents, the change since 2019, and the path since 2010. Click a tile to explore it.

3 · Where

Crime is concentrated, and rates need careful reading

Violent incidents per 1,000 residents, 2025: highest neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with at least 2,500 residents. Downtown and entertainment districts are inflated by visitors who don’t live there.

Open the interactive map →

4 · Against the nation

Austin did somewhat worse than the national trend after 2020

Austin versus the nation since 2019

Each line is indexed to 2019 = 100. Austin figures are APD data; U.S. and Texas are FBI.

The FBI’s U.S. figure dips in 2021 because many large agencies did not submit complete data that year.

5 · The district attorney question

Is the DA’s office driving crime? Four tests

José Garza has been Travis County’s district attorney since January 2021. Critics say lenient prosecution is letting dangerous people back onto the street. These are the tests public data allows, and what each shows.

▲ What supports the critics

    ▼ What complicates or cuts against it

      See all the evidence →

      6 · The claims

      What @AustinJustice says, checked against the data

      Read every check →

      7 · What we can’t know yet

      The honest limits

      Crime typesNeighborhood mapDistrict attorneyMethods & sources