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The City of St. Louis saw major improvements to public safety in 2023, including double-digit reductions in homicides and shooting incidents. In response to public safety data released earlier today, Greater St. Louis, Inc. CEO Jason Hall issued the following statement:
“We want to applaud the work the City of St. Louis and the SLMPD have done to address public safety and to drive the reductions in violent crime announced today. Addressing violent crime is critical to restoring economic growth and prosperity for all and to meeting the objectives of the STL 2030 Jobs Plan.
“In the Spring of 2023, the business community took a leadership role in calling out the metro’s homicide crisis and the need for a regional violent crime reduction strategy, and regional leadership responded by stepping up and working with national experts and local community leaders to address the crisis.
“Additionally, the business community stepped up to call out the failures of former Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and organized resources to support the transformative work of Gabe Gore to restore professionalism and confidence in the office of the Circuit Attorney, which has further helped efforts to reduce violent crime in the City.
“There is still much work to done, but the data released today is a great sign of improvement and more proof of the resurgence of the St. Louis metro.”
According to information released earlier today by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and SLMPD Commissioner Robert Tracy, crime data reveal:
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A 21% reduction in murders (158 in 2023 compared to 200 in 2022)
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A 24% reduction in shooting incidents (550 in 2023 compared to 722 in 2022)
- A 23% reduction in shooting victims (631 in 2023 compared to 821 in 2022).
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The department also reported sharp reductions in juvenile shooting incidents (47% decrease) and victims (50% decrease) compared with the prior year.
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A 22% reduction in overall Part 1 crimes (murder, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, felony theft and auto theft) compared with 2022 – including individual reductions in the majority of those crime categories.
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Year-end data compiled through the department’s CompStat process reflect a 39% reduction in felony theft; an 19% decrease in auto theft; a 12% decrease in burglaries; a 11% reduction in robbery incidents; and a 6% reduction in aggravated assaults.