WORCESTER – A report by the Worcester Police Department shows a decrease in crime across most of the metrics presented in its 202e crime analysis.
The report provides statistics for six years, starting in 2017, and compares each category against both 2021 metrics and the five-year average previous to 2022.
Total arrests by the department rose nearly five percent in 2022, from 2,475 in 2021 to 2,597 in 2022. However, arrest numbers dropped in each of the previous five years, starting in in 2018, when arrests declined from 6,087 in 2017 to 5,358. The 2022 arrests total is nearly 40 percent lower than the average of the previous five years.
Reported gunshots fell for the first time since 2019, from 720 in 2021 to 656, a decrease of nearly 9 percent. However, reported gunshots were still up over 21 percent when compared to the five-year average.
In other violent crime categories provided, non-fatal shooting incidents dropped by three from last year, from 28 to 25. Non-fatal shooting victims increased by two, from 32 in 2021 to 24. There were also ten fewer stabbings, a decline from 90 in 2021 to 80. Robberies were down by over 16 percent. Aggravated assaults were up nearly 4 percent.
Metrics such as murder and rape were not included in the report.
The full statistics provided by the Worcester Police Department are below.
