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The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) has released its annual Washington Crime report which compiles crime data from across our state for 2022
The 593-page crime report and their summary press release show that from 2021 to 2022 crime rose dramatically in our state, with homicides up 16 percent along with comparable increases in other violent crimes. Meanwhile, other major metro areas in the US have shown decreases in crime rates on average, with a composite reduction in homicides of 4%. (Renton saw a 133% increase in homicides during this period).
The report also highlights another dismal fact for those wanting to feel safer. Washington State had a net reduction in police officers last year, and now trails all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the number of police officers per capita.
These trends must be reversed before we reach a tipping point we can’t come back from. As crime has gone up and police officer count has gone down, the impossible workload has made it harder to recruit and retain qualified police officers. Continuing claims by public officials of over-policing and cries for defunding the police, in the context of already the lowest number of officers per-capita in the US, also frustrate our ability to hire officers. And far from helping, our state legislature has continued to place new restrictions, burdens and liabilities on our overworked officers, such as the complex rules that largely ban peace officers from pursuing fleeing suspects that refuse to pull over after smash-and-grab burglaries, car thefts, reckless driving, and sometimes more serious crimes. In another example, the State Legislature recently considered making new police officers and their families personally liable for any failures by the State-run police academy to thoroughly train them.
The 593-page crime report includes data from agencies across Washington, like this data regarding Renton’s 2021 and 2022 major crime rates.
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