Camden, New Jersey, recently celebrated a major milestone: the city recorded zero homicides this summer.
It’s the first time in 50 years that the city experienced zero murders during the summer months, according to a news release from Camden County.
The city’s public safety leaders credited the drop to policing that prioritizes the community and residents and long-term strategies and partnerships with trusted community organizations and social services.
“Growing up in this city and working as a police officer here, I don’t ever remember a time period where we went through the entire summer without a homicide,” Chief Gabriel Rodriguez said in the press release. “I believe this important marker speaks volumes to the work of the men and women in this department and their ongoing commitment to our community.”
Even if you don’t report in Camden, the city’s achievement can be a good starting point for health reporters looking to cover gun violence solutions. For example, how do community engagement efforts impact gun violence rates in your city? Is your local police department using community policing techniques?
Camden would also be a good city to compare to other cities of similar sizes, demographics, geography, etc.
A nationwide decrease in violent crime
A decade ago, Camden had one of the highest homicide rates in the country, according to the release.
However, as of late September 2025, the city has recorded eight homicides so far this year. Arrests have been made in seven of the eight murders.
This year’s milestone for Camden is a part of a nationwide drop in violent crime. In 2024, fatal shootings dropped 27% in the country’s largest cities, according to an analysis of over 1,000 U.S. cities.
And 2025 is on track to continue the downward trend. The Trace recently reported that gun violence is trending downward in more than 75% of cities with the most shootings. And for over half of those cities, the decline is greater than it was last year.
This summer, Chicago recorded the fewest murders since 1965, according to a WBEZ analysis.
Baltimore, Memphis, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Oakland are also experiencing major reductions in violent crime, according to The Trace.
When community policing and social services unite
In Camden, the county said community events also helped reduce summer violence.
The city and the police department regularly hosted events throughout the city, such as open gym days, senior bingo, block party BBQs and movie nights, according to the press release. The department also launched new dodgeball and flag football programs, provided outreach for senior citizens and hosted neighborhood cleanups.
The police department also touted its partnerships with the Salvation Army, the Cooper Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Camden County and the Sixers Youth Foundation.
Those groups host events and offer young people safe third spaces, according to the news release.
The police department has also been using a new drone program to analyze the city’s hot spots for violent crime, according to the release.
But Rodriguez says there’s more work to be done to reduce homicides overall.
“We still have miles to go and promises to keep to our neighbors throughout the city but make no mistake, this is a big deal and something to be recognized,” he said. “One homicide is too many in this city, and we will keep working until we don’t need to stand by a grieving mother, father, and family member.”
Resources to inform your coverage
A homicide-free summer is a major milestone because summers are often the most violent months in U.S. cities.
We have previously covered how shootings often spike during the summer in this tip sheet.
When covering this summer’s drop in homicides across the country, it’s important to keep in mind some important context:
- Kids are more likely to be victims of shootings during the summer. Without the structure of a school day, kids are more likely to be exposed to violence About 20 more kids and teens die each of the summer months across the country, according to Giffords Law Center. Many cities have summer job programs and discounted summer camps to help keep kids occupied during the school break.
- Violent crime consistently peaks during the summer, research has long found. One study found an association between heat and violence. Researchers learned that more violence occurs during days of the year with abnormally high temperatures, regardless of the season. Warmer temperatures bring people outside to socialize. Also, in areas without easy access to air-conditioning, residents escape the heat indoors and spend time on porches and in parks.
Researchers aren’t explicitly pinning the blame on people hanging outside or throwing a party. Rather, these conditions make the chance higher for conflict to arise. There’s more of a chance for violence to break out, especially without jobs or summer programs for kids.
If you’re looking to capture previous summer figures or year-to-year trends, these are some additional reliable data sources:
- The CDC maintains extensive data on gun violence in its National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The CDC’s death data is based on death certificates at the state level. Since each state has a different timeline for reporting that information, the figures are often delayed and not in real time.
- The FBI also reports gun violence data through its Uniform Crime Reporting program.
- More states are also publishing their own violent death reporting figures. Check out our data dive on those dashboards.
