ST. LOUIS — New numbers released by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department show most crime is trending down.
The new data was part of the police department's new communication effort by hosting quarterly reports every three months.
"We certainly have a lot of work to do," said St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy.
Tracy pointed out the problems and the positives Tuesday afternoon.
In its first quarterly report, the police department broke down the numbers.
"Overall crime is down 18 percent compared to this time last year and we're seeing a decrease in crime, slight increase in the number of shootings and that's a trend we're watching closely," Tracy said.
Tracy also has his eyes on the homicide rates.
At this time in 2023, St. Louis had 125 homicides. So far this year, police said it's at 116 homicides.
He added, "We're trending about 10 homicides lower than we were last year in comparative analysis, still way too many."
Chief Tracy also said juveniles being a victim of gunfire is down 14%.
We're told burglaries are up and he talked about the string of smash and grabs with businesses.
Also observing this data is Ness Sándoval, Saint Louis University Professor of Demography and Sociology.
"St. Louis City, even though crime is coming down, it still has too much crime for the size of the city at 281,000," he added.
He compared St. Louis to its peers, calling it an outlier.
"It has crime compared to Chicago, Houston, Dallas and we’re not that size of a city," Sándoval explained.
Sándoval said even if crime is going down and the city may be safer, he believes the perception of crime in the city can be a reason for people to leave.
Sándoval explained the city is losing 5-6,000 people each year. He's learned the majority are families with children.
"It's the magnitude for the size of 281,000 that drives perception. We need to be realistic, it's going to take many, many years (for it to change). It's going to change when you report 20 murders a year, 30 murders a year," Sándoval added.
Sándoval calls for more actions from the city to be transparent in order to remove stigma.
It's a move St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said they're doing by listing data on the police department's website. To access the link, click here.
"This serves an opportunity for us to increase transparency and policing, so residents to be in the know and help be a part of the solution as we see a decrease in crime in our city," Jones shared.
When it comes to police officers, there are approximately 900 officers, including recruits in the academy, which is on par with the numbers 5 On Your Side reported in July.
Tracy said their most recent campaign over the summer delivered the largest amount of applicants in years.
He said officers were leaving because of pay, but with a collective bargaining agreement, they've been able to become competitive.
"I’ve sworn in 23 officers who have left and who have come back," Tracy shared.
The next quarterly meeting will be in three months.
