Homicides down in Springfield for third consecutive year
The number of homicides in the city of Springfield declined in 2023 for the third consecutive year.
The Springfield Police Department handled five cases in 2023, though there were two other homicides with Springfield addresses investigated by Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputies.
There was one murder-suicide in the Village of Southern View, also investigated by the sheriff's department.
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Springfield officially had seven homicides in 2022. Although earlier reported as eight by The State Journal-Register, SPD did not tally the Earl Moore Jr. case, which gained national headlines when a wrongful death lawsuit was brought on by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, because it was investigated by the Illinois State Police. Two former emergency medical service workers stand accused of first-degree murder.
There were nine Springfield cases in 2021 and 2020, but 11 victims in 2020 because of the 10th Street triple murder.
Of the five cases handled by SPD in 2023, there has been one arrest.
Fredrick DeGraffenreid faces multiple murder charges in the March 14 stabbing death of Darlene O'Bryan, 72, in the 200 block of North Daniel Avenue.
Charges have been filed against Gabriel P. Calixto, 25, who is also known as Gabriel Calixto-Pichardo, in the July 11 stabbing death of activist Emma Shafer in the 1000 block of South Eighth Street.
Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette acknowledged a little over a week after Shafer's death that Calixto-Pichardo, a Mexican national, "may not be" in the United States.
The other three cases are being actively investigated, said SPD Deputy Chief Sara Pickford.
Charges have been filed in the two homicide cases handled by the sheriff's deputies.
Richard Romine faces first-degree murder and other charges in the April 27 killing of his mother, Donna Romine, in the 3100 block of W. Aire Rd.
Jerry Stegall was charged with the May 31 shooting death of Aaron Cutler in the 300 block of South Paul Street.
Unprecedented numbers
As for the falling numbers, Pickford credited SPD's street crimes unit for getting guns off the street the last two years.
At a recent budget hearing, Scarlette said the department removed 437 illegal firearms from Springfield streets in 2023.
"Removing a record number of guns off the street and lower homicide rates, it's hard to say they couldn't be related," Pickford said. "They've stepped up what they're doing."
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Pickford said technology like SoundThinking, formerly known as ShotSpotter, has allowed officers to get to scenes quicker. License plate reader cameras and the use of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a system that compares images of cartridge casings recovered at crime scenes and firearms recovered by officers to connect shooting incidents and identify shooters, also have assisted.
There even have been unintended benefits from officer-worn body cameras, Pickford said. Detectives, for instance, can go back to review footage when they were out with a potential suspect or person of interest and take a still shot of that person if SPD doesn't have a booking photo.
Ryan Williams, an associate criminology professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, acknowledged the city's homicide rate is "a collapse," but pumped on the brakes as to why.
"It's unprecedented for Springfield," said Williams, who has been studying the city's crime numbers for the last 20 years. "But we have to be very careful here because that collapse is happening all across the country, for the most part. It's been nothing more than historic. It's important to say it's not just Springfield."
For instance, Detroit is on pace to have the fewest homicides since 1966, Williams said. Baltimore and St. Louis are on pace to have the fewest homicides they've had in decades, according to the Uniform Crime Reporting program released by the FBI. Milwaukee, New Orleans, and Houston are among the cities that had massive declines in homicides in 2023.
The Springfield homicide number "is something to be satisfied with," Williams added. "We should be happy with that decline, but we should be very cautious that that stays low."
Other factors at work
Closer to Springfield, homicide rates also fell in Decatur and Champaign-Urbana.
Decatur, which is smaller than Springfield in population, still had triple the number of homicides as Springfield, down from 16 in 2022 to 15 in 2023.
Champaign-Urbana's number was almost cut in half, going from nine in 2022 to five in 2023.
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A lot of things can move crime rates up or down, which is what's happened in Decatur economically, Williams said.
"Decatur is a reflection of what they lost manufacturing-wise and industry-wise," he said. "Springfield has taken a few hits economically, but we've had some time to recover from those hits. It's going to stabilize in Decatur, eventually, which I think has happened in Springfield."
While homicides are down, the city has seen an increase in property crimes, specifically motor vehicle theft. That, Pickford said, was kicked off by a video on TikTok and "it kind of spread like wildfire with the ease in which you could steal particular makes of vehicles."
Retail theft is also on the rise, Pickford said.
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said 2023 was an average year for the number of homicides the office investigates.
"I think Sangamon County is safe," Campbell said. "You look at the randomness of the ones we're reporting (in 2023). It just reveals that homicide is the most difficult (crime) to predict and to stop from happening."
The number of SPD officers could get boosted, too. The fiscal year 25 preliminary budget calls for the addition of 15 officers and one civilian. If approved by the city council next month, two of those officers would be assigned to the street crimes unit, Scarlette said.
"Fifteen extra officers will just help our ability to hold people accountable who are not going to obey the law and possibly participate in violent crimes," Pickford said.
2023 homicides
In Springfield
Emmanuel Boston, 34, died July 8 after being shot at 24th Street and Allison Court;
Emma Shafer, 24, died July 11 after being stabbed in the 1000 block of South Eighth Street;
Larry J. Robinson, 59, died Sept. 13 in the 1400 block of North Reservoir Street;
Terrence Harris, 52, died Dec. 15 after being shot and found around North Third St. and Belmont Ave.;
Darlene O'Bryan, 72, died March 14 after being stabbed in the 200 block of North Daniel Avenue
In Sangamon County
Donna Romine, 64, died Apr. 27 after being shot in the 3100 block of W. Aire Rd.;
Aaron Cutler, 38, died May 31 after being shot in the 300 block of South Paul Street.
Craig Burch, 37, died Nov. 11 after being shot in the 3300 block of South Third Street, in Southern View.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Homicide numbers are down in Springfield for third consecutive year
