Violent crime reports in all major categories declined in the first three months of 2023 in 70 cities surveyed by the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
The group said cities reported 1,908 homicides in the first quarter, compared with 2,068 in the first quarter of 2022.
Rape reports were down from 8,233 to 7,540, robberies declined from 29,434 to 27,105, and aggravated assaults from 73,413 to 71,391.
The data are limited because they come only from many big cities, but the chiefs' report may end up reflecting national trends when a more complete compilation is issued by the FBI.
Among cities where homicides declined in the first quarter-to-first quarter comparison, Chicago went from 134 to 114, Detroit from 59 to 53, Houston from 112 to 86, Los Angeles from 86 to 69, New Orleans from 73 to 68, New York City from 99 to 94, and Philadelphia from 122 to 106.
Cities where homicides increased over the comparison period included Dallas, from 73 to 84, Memphis from 54 to 76, St. Louis, from 26 to 27, and Washington, D.C., from 43 to 55.
Experts warn against drawing major conclusions from such short-term data, but the new report may discourage the idea that violent crime is rising all over the U.S.
A report issued in January by the think tank Council on Criminal Justice said that most types of violent crime dropped in American cities in 2022, but robberies and theft offenses rose as the nation emerged from the coronavirus pandemic,
The council based its report on a survey of 35 cities. It found that the number of murders in 2022 was 4% lower than count recorded in 2021,
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