Washington’s murder rate is up, but that’s not the whole story

Violent crime numbers in Washington have soared upwards despite a nationwide decline in crime, according to an FBI national crime data report — but the new data doesn’t show the full picture.

The national murder rate decreased by 1.05% between 2019 and 2024. However, Washington recorded a 47.09% murder rate increase. The state reported a total of 206 murders in 2019, compared to 303 in 2024.

“These numbers speak for themselves,” Executive Director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) Steven Strachan said.

Washington crime numbers vary

The violent crime statistics provided by WASPC accounted for murder, rape, robbery, vehicle theft, and aggravated assault in 2019 and 2024 nationwide and in Washington.

Decrease in rape 

Washington had a 17.28% decrease in reported rapes compared to the total national decline of 15.30%. In 2024, the state recorded 2,983 rapes, which was more than 600 cases lower than in 2019.

Vehicle thefts soar

Vehicle thefts increased 15.99% across the U.S., as the rate of vehicle thefts in Washington soared 34.87%.

Robbery slightly up

Robbery statistics remained relatively unchanged in Washington from 2019 to 2024. A 0.41% increase was reported, with 5,365 robberies reported in 2024, only 22 more than in 2019. Nationally, a massive disparity could be seen with the nationwide robbery rates decreasing by 24.27%.

Aggravated assaults rise

Washington’s aggravated assault cases rose by 22.71% from 2019 to 2024, with a total of 17,190 instances in 2024. The national reported aggravated assault percent change was also up 4.79%.

Increase in total violent crime

Total violent crime statistics in Washington had a smaller margin in comparison to the national totals, but still maintained a wide gap. The state recorded an 11.67% increase in total violent crimes, compared to a nationwide decline of 3.85%.

“Some national reports suggest the crime increases seen during the pandemic have now largely reversed themselves. Unfortunately, that is not the case here in Washington,” WASPC’s statement asserted.

Data tells different story for Washington crime rates

But data released by the organization itself, just last month, suggests Washington is making headway against crime.

WASPC found that crime rates dropped overall in the state last year compared to the year before.

The murder rate — though still higher than pre-pandemic levels — dropped by 18.8% between 2023 and 2024. Property crimes, which include car thefts and vandalism, declined 13.4%, while violent crime decreased 7.6%.

“This is a good trend and we think it has a lot to do with allowing law enforcement, and supporting law enforcement, to do the important work of holding people accountable for crime,” Kent Police Chief and WASPC Vice President Rafael Padilla told KIRO Newsradio at the time.

Padilla credited recent changes in Washington’s law, which loosened restrictions on police pursuits, and the creation of a drug possession law that replaced the one that had been tossed out by the Washington State Supreme Court.

But both the analysis of the state’s own crime data and the newer comparison to national data suggest more needs to be done. WASPC suggestions include: supporting crime victims and communities, providing accountability for unlawful behavior, building trust through transparent and professional policing, and making sure law enforcement agencies have the resources they need.

WA has lowest rate of officers per capita

As the earlier WASPC report pointed out, Washington continues to have the lowest rate of officers per capita.

The rate of police per 1,000 civilians is 1.38, while the national average is 2.31.

“Imagine what we could do if we right-sized our law enforcement staff?” Padilla asked

He said it would put agencies in a position to not only respond to crimes, but to increase their presence in communities to prevent them.

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