The city of Rochester led a staggering nationwide dip in homicides last year, according to a report that sampled crime data from police agencies across the U.S.
Homicides in Rochester dropped 32% in 2023, representing the largest decrease among 32 cities studied by the Council on Criminal Justice. Nearby Buffalo recorded a 23% decrease, while homicides in Syracuse jumped by 35% last year.
Altogether, the cities studied by the CCJ reported a 10% decrease in homicides nationwide compared to 2022.
If that number holds once more agencies report their year-end stats to the FBI, the think tank said 2023 will have seen one of the largest single-year reductions in homicides in decades.
Still, violent crime has yet to fall back to pre-pandemic levels.
Killings peaked in Rochester in 2021 with a record-high 81 deaths. Last year, the city recorded 58 homicides ― a significant improvement. But homicides in 2019 were nearly half that number, at 32 deaths.
“Public safety is our top priority,” Mayor Malik Evans said at a press conference last week. “And despite the progress we are making, it remains our biggest challenge.”