Homicides increased in Washington state for the second year in a row, setting a new record as many law enforcement agencies struggle with staffing, according to an annual crime report.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs released a 590-page report on Wednesday showing a snapshot of data from March 22 that was submitted by 232 law enforcement agencies.
Murders increased by 5.9% to 325 after increasing 47% last year, according to the report. Meanwhile, the state's murder rate per 1,000 people has increased from below 0.03 in 2019 to just over 0.04 in 2021.
However, this year's murder rate is comparable to those in the late 1990s when it was falling from a record high that neared 0.6 in 1987.
The report also indicates overall violent crimes increased by 12.3% to 29,368 in 2021. WASPC Executive Director Steven Strachan called these increases unacceptable.
"It shouldn't be acceptable to anyone that violent crime has gone up as much as it did in the past year," Strachan said. "We need to begin to work together in every community, every agency, our elected officials, our communities, to bring that down and to provide justice for victims the best we can."
Amid these increases, Strachan pointed out a "staffing crisis" in agencies across the state. The total number of commissioned officers decreased by 495 to 10,736 in 2021, according to the report.
"Not every agency and not every community is having a staffing crisis," Strachan said. "Many are and when you have that significant of a net loss in one year, that should not be acceptable to any of us."
Given this loss and population growth, the number of officers per 1,000 residents decreased from 1.47 in 2020 to 1.38 in 2021. Strachan said this the lowest per-capita rate of officers since the WASPC started recording this data in 1980.
Across the nation, he said there's an average of 2.33 officers per 1,000 people. He said Washington state ranks the lowest in the nation for this rate.
"What we're seeing, unfortunately, in some agencies around the state is that level of frustration and I'll call it burnout," Strachan said. "That is resulting from the inability to provide justice for victims."
While crimes against people increased overall, Strachan said total crime was statistically down in 2021. This was due to decreases in crimes against property and crimes against society.
Notably, he said identity theft and fraud decreased 78.8% from 2020 to 2021. This followed a surge in such offenses in 2020 when more people claimed unemployment.
Crimes against society decreased the most, with a 49.2% drop, the data shows. These crimes include animal cruelty, drug violations, gambling, pornography, prostitution and weapons law violations.
Agencies reported 16,184 crimes against society in 2021 compared to 31,850 in 2020. The report indicates drug offenses fell by 60.9% and drug use arrests decreased by 73.6%.
Strachan attributed this decrease to the State Supreme Court's 2021 Blake decision, which ruled the state's simple drug possession law was unconditional. He said this decision limited law enforcement from charging people for personal possession of any drug.
Thurston County law enforcement agencies reported similar trends related to drug violations.
In 2021, the Thurston County Sheriff's Office reported 28 drug or narcotics violations compared to 104 in 2020 — a 73.1% decrease. The office reported seven drug equipment violations in 2021 compared to 13 in 2020.
The Olympia Police Department reported 73.3% fewer drug or narcotics violations in 2021 with just 46 offenses. In 2020, the department reported 172 such offenses.
Drug equipment violations in Olympia also decreased by 70.2% to just 14 in 2021. There were 47 such offenses reported in 2020.
Similar large decreases for drug offenses were reported by The Lacey Police Department and Tumwater Police Department.
Aside from the Sheriff's Office, the county's other major law enforcement agencies reported increases in crimes against persons, property and society.
* The Thurston County Sheriff's Office reported 3,926 offenses in 2021 compared to 4,599 in 2020 — a 14.6% decrease. This brought the crime rate per 1,000 people to 26.5. There were 716 arrests and 825 domestic violence offenses in 2021.
* The Olympia Police Department reported 4,493 offenses in 2021 compared to 4,483 in 2020 — a 0.2% increase. This brought the crime rate per 1,000 people to 81.7. There were 803 arrests and 485 domestic violence offenses in 2021.
* The Lacey Police Department reported 3,122 offenses in 2021 compared to 2,823 in 2020 — a 10.6% increase. This brought the crime rate per 1,000 people to 54.5. There were 559 arrests and 356 domestic violence offenses in 2021.
* The Tumwater Police Department reported 1,434 offenses in 2021 compared to 4,406 in 2020 — a 2% increase. This brought the crime rate per 1,000 people to 56.5. There were 249 arrests and 222 domestic violence offenses in 2021.
