Murder down almost 90% from last year. Yep you read that right.

Murder rates are plummeting nationwide, down about 19% from last year:

In data from over 200 cities, murder rates are down a little over 19 percent when compared to a similar time frame in 2023. Specifically, New York’s homicide rate is down about 18 percent, Washington, D.C.’s has declined 21 percent, Baltimore’s has dropped 39 percent, Philadelphia’s is down 40 percent, Chicago’s has decreased by about 9 percent, Detroit’s has fallen about 28 percent, and Cleveland’s is down by approximately 33 percent.

Add Richmond to the list: through May 8, there have been 19 homicides in Richmond, compared to 31 at this time last year. This 40% drop puts the city on par with the pre-COVID years of 2019 and 2018 (22 & 18 respectively). Pretty remarkable.

South Richmond has seen something even more special happen: there have only been 2 killings on this side of the river in 2024 – compared to 17 at this time last year. This is an almost 90% decrease.