WASHINGTON — A new report tracking crime across Washington found that the state saw its most murders since 1980, with that number increasing in each of the last three years.
“Obviously the homicide number is….is…is….something that I really find problematic,” ED of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) Steve Strachan said.
The report was put together by the WASPC, compiling data from 231 state, county, city, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
In total, police reported 394 murders in 2022. That’s a 16.6% increase over the previous year, and the highest number the WASPC has recorded since it began collecting data in 1980. The previous high mark was set in 2021 when there were 325 recorded murders.
Even with the state recording its highest number of murders in 2022, the state’s highest recorded murder rate was in 1994.
Violent crimes also rose year-over-year, from 29,750 in 2021 to 32,397 in 2022. Of those, 60.8% were for aggravated assault, while 21% were robberies, 17% were forcible sex offenses, and 1.2% were murders.
The WASPC also reported record lows for police staffing, with 1.36 officers per 1,000 people, well short of the national average of 2.31. That has Washington ranked 51st in the nation including the District of Columbia. And in some ways, some in law enforcement see a correlation.
“That correlation of staffing is an important one and I think to think about the fact that if there would be 2000 more officers and deputies on the streets and if we had the same relatively low capita numbers that we had in 1994,” Strachan said.
The Everett Police Department sent us this statement:
The rise in homicides in our city is very concerning to our Mayor, Chief, and the entire department. One of Mayor Cassie Franklin’s 2023 directives was violence prevention and reduction. In it, Mayor Franklin directed City staff to, “Reallocate resources to establish a violent crime unit to address and reduce violent crime in the community.” Public safety remains our top priority. With the establishment of our new Violent Crimes Unit (VCU), the Everett Police Department strives to increase our effectiveness in reducing violent crime and improving public safety for all of our community members.
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