Crime in St. Louis

Crime in St. Louis includes an overview of crime both in the city of St. Louis and in the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Crime in the city increased from the 1960s through the early 1990s as measured by the index crime rate. Despite decreasing crime, rates of violent crime and property crime in both the city and the metropolitan area remain higher than the national metropolitan area average.FBI 2011 UCR data for Crime in the United States by Community Type In addition, the city of St. Louis consistently has been ranked among the most dangerous cities in the United States. As of April 2017, St. Louis has the highest murder rate in America. At the end of 2017, St. Louis metropolitan had 205 murders, 159 of which were within the city limits. In 2018, the new Chief of Police, John Hayden said two-thirds (67%) of all the murders and one-half of all the assaults are concentrated in a triangular area in the north part of the city.

Trends

Prior to the 1930s, only sporadic information is available regarding crime in the city and region. As early as 1894, there were 80 homicides in the city, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. For the period 1901 to 1910, the city recorded 804 homicides, with a homicide rate for the period of 12 per 100,000 residents. In 1915, the city police reported 74 homicides, while 103 people were recorded as having died of homicide by the medical examiner. In 1921, there were 138 homicides in St. Louis according to the St. Louis city coroner, giving a rate of about 14 per 100,000 residents. After 1934, St. Louis reported crime statistics to the FBI, which compiled and published reports of index crime and homicides in the annual Uniform Crime Reports.

Starting in the 1950s, the city of St. Louis saw increases in its index crime and homicide rates, which both peaked in the early 1990s. However, St. Louis saw its peak number of index crimes and homicides in 1969 and 1970, respectively. Although some of the reduction in the number of index crimes since the early 1990s can be attributed to St. Louis's loss of population, other factors include low inflation, the decline of open-air drug markets, and a decline in crack cocaine use.

In 2009, 67 police departments in St. Louis CountyThe police departments that reported data included those of Arnold, Ballwin, Bella Villa, Bellefontaine Neighbors, Bellerive, Bel-Nor, Bel-Ridge, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Breckenridge Hills, Brentwood, Bridgeton, Calverton Park, Charlack, Chesterfield, Clayton, Cool Valley, Country Club Hills, Crestwood, Creve Coeur, Dellwood, Des Peres, Edmundson, Ellisville, Eureka, Ferguson, Flordell Hills, Florissant, Frontenac (includes Huntleigh and Westwood), Glendale, Glen Echo Park, Greendale, Hazelwood, Hillsdale, Jennings, Kirkwood, Ladue, Manchester, Maplewood, Maryland Heights, (includes Champ), Moline Acres, Northwoods, Norwood, Oakland, Olivette, Overland (includes Sycamore Hills), Pacific, Pagedale, Pasadena Park, Pine Lawn, Richmond Heights, Riverview, Rock Hill, Shrewsbury (includes Mackenzie), St. Ann, St. John, Sunset Hills, Town and Country, University City, Uplands Park, Velda City, Velda Village Hills, Vinita Park, Warson Woods, Webster Groves, Woodson Terrace, and St. Louis County Police (includes unincorporated St. Louis County, Blackjack, Clarkson Valley, Fenton, Grantwood Village, Green Park, Hanley Hills, Kinloch, Marlborough, Norwood Court, Pasadena Hills, St. George, Twin Oaks, Valley Park, Vinita Terrace, Wilbur Park, Wildwood, and Winchester). reported 33,718 index crimes, and three departments did not report crime to the FBI (these include the departments of Wellston, Normandy, and Lakeshire).

In 2010, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (the city police department) reported 33,782 index crimes, which was the lowest total reported index crimes since 1967 (however, index crimes in 1967 did not include larceny under $50, arson, or non-negligent manslaughter).Index crimes for 2010 included homicide/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, vehicle theft, and arson. The index crime rate fell 9.2 percent from 2009, with a 15.6 percent decline in violent crime and a 7.6 percent decline in property crime. However, Chief of Police Daniel Isom noted in the report that both homicides and burglaries remain problems in the city.

+Index crime and homicides in Greater St. Louis (2003–2016)For 1934 to 2016, data is from FBI Uniform Crime Reports for the United States (1930–2016). For 1930 to 1959, see Year Population Estimated index crimes Index crime rate Estimated homicides Homicide rate1958 2,027,913 33,145 1,631.5 121 6.01959 2,040,134 33,467 1,610.4 146 7.22003 2,744,792 120,046 4,373.6 152 5.52004 2,758,612 113,907 4,129.1 205 7.42005 2,784,658 116,613 4,187.7 208 7.52006 2,798,956 120,281 4,297.4 185 6.62007 2,810,914 113,496 4,037.7 266 7.72008 2,820,831 110,742 3,925.9 233 8.32009 2,829,698 102,458For 2009, UCR data does not include forcible rapes for Greater St. Louis 3,620.8 210 7.42010 2,822,879 103,228 3,656.8 219 7.82011 2,824,159 102,357 3,624.3 215 7.62012 2,798,017   93,605 3,345.4 203 7.32014 2,807,175   80,818 2,879.0 248 8.82015 2,811,161   84,861 3,018.7 295 10.52016 2,811,156   74,830 * 2,661.9 313 11.1

For 1958–1959, UCR data specified that Greater St. Louis included St. Louis, St. Charles, and Jefferson counties in Missouri, and Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois.

+Index crime and homicides in St. Louis County (2009)The population figure shown for St. Louis County is the population of St. Louis County minus that of the three municipalities did not report crime statistics to the FBI in 2009.Year Population Index crimes Index crime rate Homicides Homicide rate2009 989,966 33,718 3,406.0 36 3.6

+Prior to 1973, larceny of property worth less than $50 was not included in index crime totals but was reported to the FBI; however, the number here includes all reported larcenies. Prior to 1979, arson was not included in index crime totals and was not reported to the FBI. Prior to 1979, non-negligent manslaughter was not included in index crime totals but was reported to the FBI; however, the number here includes all reported murders and non-negligent manslaughters.For 1931 and 1932, data is from For 1933, data is from Year Population Index crimes Index crime rate Homicides Homicide rate1930 821,960 138 16.81931 131 15.81932 119 14.31933 1934 14,805 101 1935 14,434 72 1936 14,715 72 1937 13,987 59 1938 12,819 55 1939 13,302 80 1940 816,048 12,702 1,556.5 55 6.71941 12,680 66 1942 13,495 62 1943 10,047 56 1944 7,289 69 1945 8,409 53 1946 10,879 87 1947 10,972 87 1948 15,668 67 1949 16,113 72 1950 856,796 15,515 1,810.8 83 9.71951 17,816 64 1952 19,794 101 1953 21,967 96 1954 27,357 77 1955 30,223 94 1956 34,698 95 1957 37,559 92 1958 41,007 107 1959 37,121 129 1960 750,026 38,810 5174.5 81 10.8 1961 35,557 92 1962 42,787 92 1963 48,763 138 1964 54,824 160 1965 53,530 182 1966 50,940 153 1967 56,316 217 1968 66,837 244 1969 76,594 297 1970 622,236 71,437 11,480.7 309 49.7 1971 602,600 67,464 11,195.5 277 46.0 1972 579,600 65,140 11,238.8 250 43.1 1973 539,300 63,852 11,839.8 254 47.1 1974 530,800 66,400 12,509.4 227 42.8 1975 514,000 69,399 13,501.8 274 53.3 1976 505,300 62,747 12,417.8 224 44.3 1977 486,800 55,450 11,390.7 195 40.1 1978 470,900 54,485 11,570.4 210 44.6 1979 457,500 57,567 12,583.0 265 57.9 1980 450,790 65,081 14,437.1 225 49.91981 454,166 63,097 13,892.9 265 58.31982 455,362 60,500 13,286.1 226 49.61983 457,262 51,302 11,219.4 152 33.2 1984 442,528 47,628 10,762.7 128 28.91985 431,109 49,540 11,491.3 169 39.2 1986 434,298 51,721 11,909.1 195 44.91987 429,414 54,971 12,801.4 153 35.6 1988 425,187 57,215 13,456.4 140 32.9 1989 405,066 62,683 15,474.8 158 39.01990 396,685 58,886 14,844.5 177 44.61991 399,858 64,103 16,031.4 260 65.01992 402,573 59,579 14,799.6 231 57.4 1993 387,053 64,438 16,648.4 267 69.0 1994 390,437 63,839 16,350.7 248 63.51995 371,425 59,736 16,082.9 204 54.9 1996 374,041 56,588 15,128.8 166 44.4 1997 377,221 51,214 13,576.7 153 40.6 1998 344,153 51,459 14,952.4 113 32.8 1999 340,836 47,711 13,998.2 130 38.1 2000 348,189 50,653 14,547.6 124 35.6 2001 350,336 52,635 15,024.1 148 42.3 2002 353,004 50,429 14,285.7 111 31.4 2003 340,256 52,294 15,369.0 74 21.8 2004 335,143 45,761 13,654.2 113 33.72005 346,005 46,568 13,458.8 131 37.9 2006 346,879 49,312 14,215.9 129 37.2 2007 348,197 41,555 11,934.3 138 39.6 2008 356,204 37,826 10,619.2 167 46.9 2009 355,208 36,948 10,401.8 143 40.32010 355,151 33,529 10,580.2 144 45.12011 320,454 31,619 9,866.9 113 35.32012 318,667 27,656 8,678.7 113 35.5 2014 318,574 25,267 7,931.3 159 49.92015 317,095 26,013 8,203.5 188 59.32016 314,507 24,670 7,844.0 188 59.8

2011 and 2012

In 2011, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reported 113 homicides to the FBI, falling 21% from 2010, and producing a rate of 35.3 per 100,000 residents. In addition, the city reported 31,619 index crimes, a reduction of 5.7% from 2010, for a rate of 9,866.9 per 100,000. For the metropolitan area, the FBI estimated 102,357 index crimes took place in the region in 2011, a 0.8% decline from 2010, for a rate of 3,624.3 per 100,000. The FBI estimated 215 homicides took place in the region in 2011, a decline of 1.8% from 2010, for a rate of 7.6 per 100,000.

For 2012, preliminary crime data released by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department showed a decline of 12.4% in crime, with the overall crime rate lower than it was in 1970. St. Louis reported 113 homicides, the same as 2011, while it reported a decline in both violent and property crimes from 2011. Violent crimes declined 4.9%, including a 16.5% decline in robberies to 1,777 the lowest since 1953, while property crime declined 14.2%, with a 28.9% decline in burglaries. Rape was up 5.9%, and vehicle thefts were up 3.6% in 2012. At the end of 2017, St. Louis had 205 murders, up 9% from 2016.

Policing Law enforcement in the metropolitan area is provided by a variety of municipal and county police departments and by federal agencies. In the city of St. Louis, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department provides police service,St. Louis City Police Department while the city sheriff's department provides courtroom protection services, serves eviction notices, and transports prisoners between courts and jails within the city.St. Louis City Sheriff's Office In St. Louis County, 67 police departments, including the St. Louis County Police Department, provide police services, while the county also maintains a sheriff's office for courtroom services and civil actions. Nearby counties such as St. Charles County have both municipal police departments and a county-wide sheriff that provide police services. The Missouri State Highway Patrol maintains a troop servicing the region with its headquarters in St. Charles County. An FBI field office is located in the city of St. Louis, while the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives maintains a group supervisor office in the city under the direction of the Kansas City Field Division.

In 1994, Morgan Quitno (a private research and publishing company purchased by CQ Press in 2007) began publishing reports that named St. Louis City among the "most dangerous" cities in the United States. Although the methodology for the reports changed during the 1990s, St. Louis retained its ranking in the top ten most dangerous cities, and it was named the most dangerous city in the United States three times, most recently in 2010.

+ "Most Dangerous" ranking of St. Louis (1994–2012)Year1994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012 RankingFor each year, data used in the ranking is from the previous year.Morgan Quitno/CQ Press (1994–2010).2 3 3 8 5 5 3 3 3 1 2 4 3 1 4 2 1 ? 4