Seattle Crime Rate Lowest In 10 Years But Murders At A Record High As Other Crimes Decline Sharply
The number of incidents of violent crime and crimes against property in Seattle last year was the lowest in a decade, but the 69 murders marked a record high.
There were 57,905 incidents of violent crimes and crimes against property combined in 1994, the lowest total since 1984, when 56,119 crimes were reported, according to statistics provided by the FBI Crime Index.
The latest crime figures showed a 21 percent drop from Seattle’s worst year - 72,937 incidents in 1987. The improvement reflects a slowdown in Seattle’s population growth, up about 40,000 since 1987 for a 1994 estimate of 531,400.
City officials say a greater police presence on the streets, including specialized anti-crime and community policing teams, has contributed to the statistical gains. Police also estimate nearly 40,000 alarm systems are in place in the city, double the number in 1984, with installations increasing at a rate of 15 percent annually.
The rate for murders, meanwhile - particularly those committed by youths - continued to increase. The 69 murders recorded last year and the 67 in 1993 are the two highest totals for the city over the past quarter century.
The biggest statistical drop came in residential and non-residential burglaries, where the numbers have been cut nearly in half in a decade.
Residential burglaries fell from 11,021 in 1985 to 5,446 last year, while non-residential burglaries dropped from 5,241 to 2,740.
On the downside, alarm dispatches resulting in 911 calls more than doubled, from 16,110 in 1984 to 34,435 in 1992. With the passage of a city false-alarm ordinance, alarm dispatches decreased to 29,713 last year, freeing up officers for other calls.
Police say anti-crime and community policing teams have been able to focus enforcement operations on narcotics, vice and general nuisance complaints, which are chronic 911 calls.
As a result, overall 911 calls dropped from a high of 886,718 in 1991 to 839,125 last year.