Sacramento Police say early data show reduction in violent crime

Sacramento Police and city officials touted a reduction in violent crime so far in 2023 on Wednesday, following increases during the pandemic.

The city also announced $3.2 million in grants to community-based organizations working to interrupt violence in Sacramento, which Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Police Chief Kathy Lester both pointed to as part of the explanation behind the decline so far this year.

Lester said community based organizations in the city have been given the resources to provide mentoring programs, life-skills training and mental health treatment. That’s thanks to funding from Measure U, a full-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2018.

“We in turn were able to support their efforts with a more focused enforcement strategy that really works on prevention intervention and Interruption,” Lester said. “We know that most urban violence occurs in very small geographic areas by a very small number of offenders and having that information at hand, it gives you a starting point.”

Merv Brookins is the CEO of Brother 2 Brother, a non-profit community mentoring organization that has partnered with the police department. He said he was unsure of Lester’s plan initially, but has been encouraged by the progress he’s seen.

“Now, because of the relationships that we've been able to build, oftentimes in the past when law enforcement encountered a youth that may be acting up the only option they have was to take them to juvenile hall or if they're a little bit older take them to jail today,” he said. “You have law enforcement officers that will stop and call a community based organization and say, ‘Hey, I got this youngster out here. Can you come out and help?”

Reports of violent crime — including robbery, aggravated assault, rape and homicide — were down around 18% from January to September this year compared to the same period last year, according to police.

In 2022, the department reported nearly 92 violent crimes per 10,000 residents, according to data from the state Department of Justice. That was up from nearly 64 in 2019.

“What I can tell you is when we compare ourselves this year to what we're seeing nationally we are significantly trending down, but that does put us back, you know, close to pre pandemic levels,” Lester said.

Sacramento also reported more than 50 murders in each of the past two years, the first time that has happened since 2005-06. That included a mass shooting that killed 6 people and left 12 people wounded on K Street in April 2022.

The numbers released Wednesday can’t be directly compared since they only cover the first nine months of 2023. Lester said they wanted to share the figures early because they had seen a “dramatic reduction.”

“I think that's really important to share,” Lester said. “But certainly, you know, when you're looking at crime, when you're looking at crime data, it's important to look at not just two years, three years or five years, and while we're certainly coming out with great numbers now … that doesn't mean the work is done.”