Yesterday, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and Police Chief Cathy Lanier held a press conference yesterday to announce that D.C. had seen its fewest homicides since 1963. Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Police Department announced that 88 people were murdered in 2012, 20 less than in 2011. It also marks the first time the number has been in double digits since 1963, when 95 people were killed.
Over the past five years, D.C.'s homicide rate has dropped by 58 percent, as 142 people were killed in 2008. However, other types of violent crime has increased. Sexual assaults, robberies and assaults with deadly weapons increased by three percent in 2012. Violent crimes accounted for nearly 20 percent of all crimes reported last year, with property crimes making up for the rest.
Still, on a positive note, MPD boasted an 82 percent closure rate on homicide cases—another improvement.
[via DCist]
