San Antonio’s violent crime reduction plan is producing its most significant drop in violent street crime yet, as officials say the strategy is starting to show stronger results in its third year.
The update, presented Tuesday to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, marks the latest evaluation of the city’s partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio to target violence in the city’s highest-crime areas.
Citywide, violent street crime declined 21.1%, while violent victimization fell 20.8% in 2025 compared to 2024.
The plan defines violent street crime as murder, robbery, aggravated assault and deadly conduct — a subset of overall crime that excludes offenses such as property crime and family violence.
The reductions were more pronounced in areas where police concentrated enforcement.
In roughly 30 to 35 high-crime “hot spot” areas treated every 60 days in 2025, violent street crime dropped 63.2% compared with the same periods the year before. Surrounding areas also saw a 23.8% decrease, which researchers said suggests crime was not displaced into nearby neighborhoods.
Citywide and in treated hot spots, violence-related arrests and calls for service also declined.
UTSA criminologist Michael Smith, who partnered with the city to implement the plan, told committee members the results represent a “very substantial reduction,” calling them “fantastic.”
The plan, which launched in 2023, relies on three strategies: hot spot policing, problem-oriented place-based policing and a third phase known as focused deterrence, which has not yet been implemented.
Hot spot policing — the first phase — rotates officers into the city’s most violent areas based on recent crime patterns, while the second phase targets specific high-crime locations with coordinated enforcement and community interventions.
At one such location, 4032 E. Southcross Blvd., violent crime and victimization both dropped 50% after the city began targeted efforts from June through December 2025, according to the report.
Committee discussion
Despite the declines, committee members quickly turned to what the results should mean for the city’s broader public safety strategy, particularly as officials prepare for future budget decisions.
District 10 councilmember Marc Whyte — a staunch supporter of increasing police hiring — pointed to the hot spot findings as evidence that increasing police presence in high-crime locations is an effective way to reduce violence.
“It is government malpractice to look at a report like this and then not want to fund more officers to be patrolling the streets of San Antonio,” Whyte said.
Whyte recently filed a council consideration request calling on the city to remain on track with independent police staffing recommendations — a topic of debate during the last budget cycle, when a push to add more officers failed to make it into the final budget.
He questioned Smith about the relationship between police presence in hot spot policing and broader crime reduction. While Smith said increased police presence in targeted areas does deter crime, he cautioned that the approach does not address underlying causes.
“In each of those individual hotspots that get treated, crime returns to its pre-treatment average after about 60 days,” Smith said. “It’s like a fever reducer — like an ibuprofen. When the ibuprofen wears off, your headache comes back, unless you treat what’s causing your headache to begin with.”
District 2 councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez echoed that point, arguing that long-term reductions in crime require investment beyond policing.
“Unless you create a police state in which a police is on every corner at all times, you’re not going to achieve permanent results by adding more police officers,” McKee- Rodriguez said. ”You won’t, so you need to make the long term investments.”
What comes next
City officials say the next phase of the plan — known as focused deterrence — is expected to shift the strategy from targeting locations to targeting individuals.
Maria Vargas-Yates, director of the city’s Integrated Community Safety Office, said the focused deterrence approach will target individuals repeatedly involved in violent crime, combining enforcement with access to services aimed at helping them avoid further offenses.
She described the strategy as a “carrot and stick” approach — pairing the threat of enforcement with opportunities for support.
The plan includes connecting individuals to resources such as trauma counseling, substance abuse treatment, housing, education and job support, while also increasing coordination with law enforcement to prioritize prosecution if new crimes are committed.
The approach is intended to address the underlying causes of violence — an issue several council members said will be key to sustaining the reductions seen so far.
Vargas-Yates said the city is currently reviewing nonprofit proposals to provide those services through its consolidated funding process.
Recommendations are expected to go to City Council in late April, with contracts beginning in June. Officials said the focused deterrence program is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.
