Washington state saw a record-high 394 murders in 2022, according to a new statewide collection of law enforcement data, up from 336 murders in the year before. Released Monday, the 2022 Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs’ annual crime statistics report also showed an increase in the number of assaults, thefts and other crimes.
The Association has released a crime report every year since 1980. The data is often debated in the Washington Legislature, where elected officials write and rewrite laws on everything from what should be a crime to directing how law enforcement officers conduct their work.
Given Washington’s population growth, the overall murder rate is still effectively lower than it was in 1994, according to Steve Strachan, executive director of the nonprofit Association. Still, recent numbers are a marked increase from before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In 2019, the state saw 205 murders, according to the new report.
There were also 47,448 vehicle thefts statewide last year, according to the new report, up from about 35,400 in 2021.
The new annual report also shows what could be record-breaking use of firearms during violent offenses. In 2022 there were 7,216 instances of violent crimes involving a firearm, more than triple the organization’s 2019 tally of 2,318 instances. The figure has grown in recent years, with 4,358 instances in 2020 and 5,665 in 2021, according to a review of previous reports.
Meanwhile, the number of assaults against law enforcement officers increased after a dip in last year’s statistics. The latest report notes 2,375 assaults against officers last year, up from 1,968 recorded in 2021 and 1,676 in 2018.
The new report notes a decline in commissioned law enforcement officers in Washington by 70 individuals, to 10,666 officers total, said Strachan during a news conference on the report. Washington had a net loss of nearly 500 commissioned officers in 2021, he said.
For 13 years, Washington has had the lowest number of law enforcement officers per 1,000 people among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to Strachan. The figure in the new report is also the lowest on record for the state.
Staff shortages don’t affect only the number of officers on patrol, because they include other roles such as detectives who investigate crimes, Strachan said.
“We are way outside the norm; we are literally at the far end of the curve,” he added.