The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department revealed in its quarterly report Wednesday that in the first three months of this year, homicides dropped to their lowest level in the past 20 years, and that overall crime is down by 28% compared to the first quarter of last year.
Police Chief Robert Tracy said at a press conference that the decline is due to crime prevention initiatives and efforts by Mayor Tishaura Jones in working with Youth Services and the Office of Violence Prevention and enhancing communication among departments. Burglaries, robberies and auto thefts also saw significant decreases.
“We work with [the St. Louis City Justice Center] and the juvenile courts, and we tried to get an MOU in there to make sure that we're taking care of these kids when they're out there with firearms, and they're out there late at night,” Tracy said at SLMPD headquarters in downtown St. Louis. He said they’ve been working to get youth the necessary services to ensure they're not getting in trouble.
The mayor’s office and police officials have been touting a continual decline in crime the past few years. Still, some experts have said it’s hard to hang the success solely on police and city efforts because crime was high in the aftermath of COVID and St. Louis’ decline is in line with the rest of the country.
Tracy said there’s more work to do.
“As we enter the next quarter, we will remain steadfast on the mission to protect and serve while working with our community and Crime Control Strategies to strategically deploy our patrol resources,” Tracy said.
The police department reports that as of March 31, homicides are down 45%, robberies are down 20%, burglaries are down 33%, and auto thefts are down 39%, year to date.
The number of shooting incidents and shooting victims both decreased 39% year to date, as well, Tracy reported. He noted, however, that there was an uptick in robberies last week. He said five people, including juveniles, were arrested over the weekend.
“We were able to get those people arrested (to) slow down some of these carjackings and some of these robberies that are happening,” Tracy said. He said the public has been helpful in reporting crimes and encouraged people to continue reporting things as they see or hear about them.
Earlier this year, police reported the city’s homicides in 2024 at their lowest level since 2013. City officials said assistance from service providers and surveillance technology helped reduce crime rates.
Last year, there were 150 homicides, down from 160 in 2023.
The mayor said during the press conference that efforts to achieve the regional goal of reducing homicides and shootings by over 20% over the next three years continue. To accomplish this, city and other regional leaders are utilizing a combination of focused deterrence, cognitive behavioral theory and using trusted messengers, Jones said. She also noted legislation signed into law last month by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe that places the city police department under state control.
“Soon, against the will of the voters and against facts and common sense, a governor-appointed board will take control of the operations of the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department,” Jones said. “As a member of that board, I will fight every single day to continue the progress we've made to put the safety of our people first.”
Jones has raised salaries for police officers twice over the past two years. In 2023, officers received historic raises ranging from 8% to 13%, and earlier this year, Jones signed another round of raises of up to 7%.
Jones and Alderwoman Cara Spencer of the 8th Ward have spent the past five weeks making the case for why they should lead Missouri’s second-largest city. During the primaries in March, Spencer more than doubled Jones’ vote total in a repeat of the 2021 race when Jones was first elected mayor.
Voters will ultimately decide in the April 8 general election.
