'Biggest challenge': Homicides dropped in 2023. Rochester led the way in national decrease

Kayla Canne, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

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."

Rochester had highest increase in car thefts nationwide

As homicides in Rochester fell, the city found itself gripped by car thefts thanks to a viral video that exposed a security flaw in Kia and Hyundai models.

The trend caught on nationwide, but Rochester led the pack.

Car thefts in the city increased by 248% last year ― the largest increase among cities studied in the report. Nearly 4,000 cars were stolen here, according to data from the Rochester Police Department.

Buffalo had the third highest increase with 135% more car thefts last year than in 2022. Syracuse numbers were up 81%.

Rochester car theft solutions: Most Kia and Hyundais are still vulnerable to car theft. Here's how to protect yours

The rise and fall of crime in Rochester NY

With any change in crime ― good or bad ― people are quick to theorize what may be behind the shift in data.

The truth is, many factors influence crime, the authors of the report wrote, and research into these trends is largely "incomplete and inconclusive."

They offered these possible explanations, which taken alone or together may have contributed to the 2020 spike and eventual decline of homicides nationwide:

  • Pandemic-related changes in daily activities and emotional and economic stress levels

  • Changes in police practices

  • A "rupture" of public trust in law enforcement

  • The suspension or reduction of social supports and programs

Kayla Canne reports on community justice and safety efforts for the Democrat and Chronicle. Get in touch at kcanne@gannett.com or on Twitter @kaylacanne.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester NY crime: Homicides fall by a third in 2023

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