Reported crime in the city of El Paso fell sharply in the first three months of 2024, after two years of increases, according to data reported by the FBI this week.
The number of reported serious crimes from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2024, was 6% lower than the same period a year earlier, according to the FBI, which relies on reports from local law enforcement agencies. The El Paso data was provided by the El Paso Police Department.
The only major crime category to see an increase was auto theft. The number of auto thefts reported in El Paso in the first three months of the year was 505, a 20% increase over the same period a year earlier.
Most other major crimes tracked in FBI reporting – murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and theft – all declined in El Paso compared with the first three months of 2023. The number of reported arsons was 26 in the first three months of 2023 and 2024.
Violent crime – murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – declined by 25%, according to the FBI report. Property crime – burglary, theft, auto theft and arson – dropped by 2%.
El Paso’s drop in crime was in line with national trends. Crime nationwide, and in cities similar in size to El Paso, showed sharp drops in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Violent crime was down 15% nationwide and 16% in cities with populations between 500,000 and 999,999, according to the FBI reports. El Paso’s population was listed by the FBI at 676,665 in 2023.
Property crime was down 15% nationwide and 13% among cities with populations between 500,000 and 999,999 people.
El Paso’s crime rate, like much of the nation, had seen steep and consistent declines from the early 1990s through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide, crime rates increased significantly in 2021 and 2022 before falling last year.
El Paso was one of the few large cities to see crime increase in 2023, though its overall crime rate was the lowest among U.S. cities included in the FBI reports.
The FBI quarterly reports are based on data provided voluntarily by local law enforcement agencies. The first quarter report is based on data received from 13,719 of 19,268 law enforcement agencies in the country, the FBI said.
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