ST. LOUIS – As the country gears up for National Night Out, St. Louis city leaders say violent crime is dropping, but there is still a lot of work to do.
On Tuesday, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department gave its quarterly report to the public, which included the latest crime statistics, crime trends, and operational efforts. The data shows that there has been a decrease in homicides and other crimes in the City of St. Louis.
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, joined by public safety officials and community violence intervention partners, highlighted the significant progress on the state of public safety since the administration took office in April 2021.
The number of homicides per year has decreased by nearly 40% since Mayor Jones took office.
2020: 263 HOMICIDES
2021: 201 HOMICIDES
2022: 200 HOMICIDES
2023: 160 HOMICIDES
The 160 homicides in 2023 were the lowest number St. Louis had seen since 2014, which had 159 homicides in the city, but there was an increase in car break-ins.
“I am encouraged by our continued progress to make St. Louis safer,” Mayor Tishaura Jones said. “But now is not the time to celebrate. One life lost to gun violence is one too many, and in 2024, we will continue to stick to our principles and build on our strengths to make St. Louis safer for all our residents.”
“What our detectives are doing each and every day and what we are doing on the front end to keep these things from happening,” Chief Robert Tracey said. “We are using everything we can to leverage technology we have in place to help us solve these crimes before they happen.”
At the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting, there was a moment of silence for fallen St. Louis Officer David Lee, who was struck and killed over a week ago.
“Officers are working to keep St. Louis safe; it’s what our former colleague did with integrity every single day and what he has done the last two decades,” Tracy said.
The chief says it’s a reminder that law enforcement puts their lives on the line every day.
