Austin crime drops through first quarter of the year to lowest numbers since 2020

Crime in Austin is down through the first part of 2024 to levels lower than the same period of any year since 2020, data shows.

The drop comes after Austin saw a rise in crime during the pandemic, mirroring that of most other large cities throughout the country — with 2021 having the largest number of homicides in the city's history. Even with the decrease in total crime, Austin continues to see an increased number of auto thefts, which follows a nationwide trend spurred by social media.

The data comes from the Austin Police Department's new Open Policing Data Release website, which was launched last month and features a slew of datasets previously unreleased.

The city's crime data for years has been available through the police chief's monthly reports published online, but the new portal allows users to easily access crime data and compare it with previous months or years. However, the data goes back to only 2020, which is when the department switched from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting system to the bureau's National Incident-Based Reporting System.

The drop in crime this year has Auzzie Krobatsch, the Austin Police Department's acting data initiatives and analytics strategy officer, "cautiously optimistic" about what the rest of the year could yield.

Nationwide, cities saw a 20% decrease in homicides from the beginning of the year through March, The Wall Street Journal reported.

What do the numbers show for the first quarter of 2024?

The FBI's reporting system splits crimes into three categories: crimes against persons, crimes against property and crimes against society.

Crimes against persons are typically violent crimes, such as murder, rape and assault, although the category excludes robbery. Crimes against property are largely thefts, arson and burglary. Crimes against society are mainly drug arrests but also include prostitution and gambling.

Austin's crimes against persons and property are down 8% and 14%, respectively, compared with the same period each year since 2020. However, crimes against society are up compared with last year, although not at the highest level in the past four years.

There were 14 homicides from January through March in Austin, according to police. That is tied for the lowest number during the same period in the past four years. However, it's still double the number of homicides Austin had in that period in 2019, according to data in the police chief's monthly crime reports in 2020.

Rape, robbery and burglary also show lower numbers for this time period than for the same period in the past four years.

However, auto thefts continue to remain high, reflecting a nationwide surge. Numbers remained higher through the first quarter of this year than in the same period of the past four years.

Aggravated assaults, while lower now than in the past two years, are higher than in 2020 and 2021.

Overall, total crime numbers across all three categories are down 11% compared with the past four years.

More: Homicides in Austin stayed the same in 2023 as in the previous year. Here's what we know.

Why is APD 'cautiously optimistic'?

Krobatsch said crime reporting isn't perfect and oftentimes there's a delay in reporting, as sometimes a victim doesn't come forward until later.

She said that in another three months there will be a better picture of what the crime numbers actually were in the first quarter of 2024. She also noted that calls for service are relatively the same, only showing a 2% decrease, which could mean there's not as large of a drop in crime as the database currently shows.

More: Auto thefts have revved up 138% since 2019 in Austin. The trend doesn't seem to be slowing.

To what does APD attribute the decrease?

Krobatsch said the decrease could come from the fact that the Austin Police Department has been "participating in a lot of intelligence-led policing (and) focusing on identifying hotspot areas and underlying issues."

She noted last month's event at which the Police Department worked with Hyundai to provide owners of certain vehicles prone to theft with a free system upgrade and handed out steering wheel locks as Hyundai and Kia saw a nationwide surge of thefts.

What is the new APD database?

The Austin Police Department Open Policing Data Release was launched last month after the City Council passed a resolution calling for its creation in September.

The data portal has 13 datasets that include the number of cadets in training, retirements, separations, response times, use-of-force incidents and mental health calls.

Each dataset also contains explanations about its data.

For members of the community looking to analyze the datasets, Krobatsch recommended reading the descriptions, as some of the columns can be confusing for people who aren't researchers or data analysts.

Krobatsch said the portal is not automated and is managed by people working for the department. Each dataset is updated at various intervals, with some being monthly and others quarterly, depending on what is "reasonable" for that data, she said.

Krobatsch added that if community members see something they would like added, they can contact the department at APDOpenDataAssets@austintexas.gov about adding new data to one of the sets.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin crime dropping in 2024 compared with previous four years