Lincoln Mayor Touts ‘Safe’ City as Violent Crime Surges 32% in One Year

by John Gage

LINCOLN – Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird was joined by the Lincoln Police Department (LPD) to discuss the release of the city’s annual crime report for 2025. The report showed that violent crime in the city has risen 32% in just one year, despite overall crime dropping.

“Public safety is the cornerstone of our community’s high quality of life and my administration’s number one priority,” Gaylor Baird said during the Thursday press conference. “And that is why the city of Lincoln invests so significantly in the partnerships, the training, equipment, and facilities to keep our community members and law enforcement professionals safe.”

“Our investments in public safety are paying dividends – Lincoln is among the safest capital cities in the country,” she added.

The mayor highlighted a 20-year low in overall crime in the city. Lincoln Police Department Chief Michon Morrow noted in her opening statement that violent crime was up “a little bit” this past year.

“While total Part 1 crime is down the numbers for the subset of violent crime were up a little bit in 2025,” said Lincoln Police Department Chief Michon Morrow. According to LPD data, total violent crime included 972 incidents of rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and homicide in 2024. In 2025, that number was 1289 incidents.

Rape Reports Up 70%

Morrow also noted the rape clearance for the city was down to 8.6% in 2025 — the lowest on record in at least two decades. This comes as the number of reported rapes in Lincoln was up over 70% from 2024 to 2025.

The police chief said the clearance rate was an “administrative issue” caused by “turnover in the leadership.” “We just fell behind,” she said. “If we look at those numbers so far in 2026, the clearance rate is sitting at about 38%.”

Morrow downplayed the overall increase in rapes, stating the numbers “looks more” when you look at the percentage because “it is smaller numbers to begin with.” The 70% increase represents a jump from 157 rapes reported in 2024 to 267 rapes in 2025.

(Graphic courtesy of LPD)

When pressed on why there were more rape incidents in the city, Morrow acknowledged that the numbers “certainly stand out.” “We can hypothesize on that one, and we certainly have, of what that looks like with the number being up. I know that the number being up is frightening in the community,” she said.

Morrow went on to hypothesize that victims were more comfortable reporting crimes, and that was what drove the number up. “Arguably, I think it could also be viewed as we are creating a law enforcement agency with the resources that we have, that people are feeling more comfortable in coming forward,” she said.

The Plains Sentinel followed up with both LPD and the mayor’s office on why violent crime was trending up while overall crime was trending down. Both offices pointed back to Morrow’s response during the news conference, stating that it is possible people feel more comfortable reporting crime to LPD.

Three major categories helped lead the overall drop in crime in the city. Burglaries dropped from 790 in 2024 to 571 in 2025, larcenies dropped from 5,635 to 4,418, and auto theft dropped from 968 to 672. Overall, Part 1 crimes, which include both violent crimes as well as property crimes, dropped nearly 15% from 2024 to 2025.

Morrow credited public awareness by LPD, technology, and officers being present in the community for the drop. “We are always putting information out so our community can educate themselves to lower their risk of being a victim,” she said. “But I also think that we’ve just evolved in our communities with technology. Like almost every house has, anymore, a Ring doorbell. Businesses are more secure, they have their camera systems.”

“All of that, coupled with officers being out and being present,” she added.

Violent Crime Rise is Historic

Lincoln’s rise in violent crime in 2025 marks the single largest jump in violent crime in at least two decades. The overall number of violent crimes marks the end of a decline in the city’s violent crime since 2020, when incidents of violent crime hit a 13-year high.

(Graphic courtesy of LPD)

Lincoln’s violent crime surge bucks the national trend, where violent crime is trending down. According to the Council of Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank that analyzes crime trends, nationwide homicides are down 21%, aggravated assaults 9%, domestic violence 2%, and robbery fell by 23%.

The city of Omaha's crime report showed that violent crime stayed flat for the city from 2024 to 2025. The Omaha Police Department credited strong community partnerships and data-driven strategies for their drop in crime.

John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.