SEATTLE — Seattle's violent crime rate reached a 15-year high in 2022, surpassing the record set in 2021, according to a yearly crime report released by the Seattle Police Department (SPD).
New data released by SPD indicates that violent crime increased by 4% compared to 2021, which was the previous all-time high in reported crimes. Totals in 2022, however, surpassed the 2021 mark with 49,577 violent and property crimes. The department reported that aggravated assault and motor vehicle thefts were "significantly" high in 2022 compared to a five-year weighted average.
Officers investigated 52 homicides in 2022, an increase from 41 homicides in 2021. Of the 52 homicides in Seattle, 73% died from gun violence, according to the report.
The report indicated 2022 had the second-highest total homicides after 53 homicides were reported in 2020.
Police said shootings and shots fired reached an all-time in 2022. The previous high was 2021, followed by 2020, indicating a three-year trend in which shootings have increased.
The Seattle Police Department verified 739 criminal shootings and shots fired citywide. There were 329 verified shootings in 2019, but this total has steadily risen each year.
In 2022, police said 39 fatal shootings and 157 non-fatal shootings resulted from guns and shots fired events.
As a whole, the violent crime rate for the City of Seattle increased to 736 per 100,000 in 2022, with property crime rates increasing slightly in 2022.
Investigators said in the report that the three Seattle neighborhoods with the largest amount of shootings and shots fired events in 2022 were Chinatown/International District, Brighton/Dunlap and Northgate.
As crime rates have risen, the amount of officers within the Seattle Police Department has reached all-time lows. More than 400 police officers left the department through retirement or resignation in two hours. The number of trained and deployable officers in 2022 was 954, the lowest mark in over 30 years.
The number of officers within the Seattle Department hovered between 1,200 and 1,300 for seven consecutive years before dropping to 1,094 in 2020, according to data from the City of Seattle.
The downward trend in staffing began in the summer of 2020 and persisted throughout 2022.
Mayor Bruce Harrell and Chief Adrian Diaz announced a new police recruitment strategy in 2022 in the hopes to add more officers.
Harrell's goal is for the department to reach 1,400 police officers. According to data from the city, Seattle had 1,315 officers in 2017, the highest total it has had in the last seven years.
“While today SPD staffing is at crisis levels, we also have in front of us an opportunity to restore and rebuild a Seattle Police Department that lives up to our highest values and priorities," Harrell said in July 2022. "We need the right number of officers and the right kind of officers."
The annual crime report released by SPD noted, however, that overall crime decreased in the final three months of 2022.
Hate crimes and bias incidents dropped in 2022, but police said bias incidents involving homelessness increased by 229% in the year.
Extended interview: Seattle police chief on 2022 crime report