LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In 1993 the City of Little Rock reported 70 homicides, which was the most deaths in one year— but that was until last year. 2022 became the deadliest year with a total of 82 homicides.
We're now five months into 2023 and so far we've been seeing a more positive trend.
According to the latest data report collected by the Little Rock Police Department, in the first five months of 2022, there was a total of 29 homicides reported in the capital city. So far this year there's been 16 which is a 45 percent decrease.
Violent crime is down 7 percent city-wide, and property crimes are down by 6 percent. The department doesn't just collect data city-wide, but they also break it down into three different divisions: 12th station, northwest, and southwest.
Each one of those has been seeing a decrease in homicides by anywhere between 42 and 50 percent.
While the latest numbers provided by police show a downward trend, there was a homicide that happened over the weekend.
On Saturday evening, officers found a 29-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound near Roosevelt and Asher. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Little Rock PD explained that they plan to continue using data and trends to help determine where to send resources so that they can continue keeping the community safe
Meanwhile, in North Little Rock the police department has been seeing an increase in homicides this year compared to last. In 2022 they reported a total of 23 homicides.
This time last year the department said they reported 8 homicides and so far, this year there have been 10.
North Little Rock police explained that they have seen a 17 percent decrease in violent crimes over the past few weeks. Though right now, they too are investigating a homicide that happened over the weekend.
Police were called to Camp Robinson Road at around 2:00 am on May 6 after receiving a report of multiple gunshots in the area.
Officers explained that when they arrived they found a car with flashers in the middle of West 41st Street. A man was found suffering from a gunshot wound and pronounced dead at the scene.