The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs [WASPC] has released an annual report detailing another dramatic surge in violent crime in 2022. There were 394 homicides in the state in 2022, a 19% increase in the homicide rate over 2021.
WASPC also says that motor vehicle thefts rose 34% statewide in 2022. Homicide and motor vehicle theft are the two best gauges of crime. This is because people stop reporting a lot of a crime as the crime rate increases, especially if there is a lack of prosecution.
WASPC says that Washington has fewer law enforcement officers per capita than any other state. The total number of officers continues to fall, even as the population of the state grows.
Between 1999 and 2019, Washington experienced very low homicide rates, only to explode alongside deadly BLM/Antifa rioting in 2020.
2019: 201 (7,614k, 2.6 per 100k)
2020: 301 (7,694k, 3.9 per 100k) – highest rate since 1998
2021: 325 (7,739k, 4.2 per 100k) – highest rate since 1997
2022: 394 (7,864k, 5.0 per 100k) – highest rate since 1995
1976 was the all-time record at 5.7 per 100k.
Five US states set new all-time homicide rate records in 2020. These are Pennsylvania, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. In 2021, Delaware set an all-time record, and Pennsylvania set a new record for the second year in a row. Other states may have also set new all-time records. However, we are still waiting for the data to be published.
