What’s unfolding in America’s cities feels less like a miracle and more like a fragile truce. Violence is ebbing, but not because of one silver bullet or sweeping reform. It’s the slow accumulation of a thousand small shifts: detectives finally working full caseloads again, outreach workers mediating grudges before they turn fatal, courtrooms clearing backlogs that once left victims and defendants in limbo. Neighborhoods are adjusting to a post-pandemic rhythm, with more eyes on the street and fewer lives knocked off course at once.

Still, the gains rest on thin ice. Many communities remain scarred by years of loss and distrust, and some city streets are only marginally safer than before 2020. The real test isn’t this year’s statistics, but whether leaders treat the decline as a mandate to double down on prevention—or an excuse to move on. The numbers are falling; what we do next decides whether they sta…