As St. Louis made national headlines with the arrest of alleged serial killer Perez Reed, new data reveals the city has seen a 29% drop in homicides compared to this time last year.
“We still have substantial numbers, so it may not feel to the community that we’ve had substantial decreases. So, we’ve got a lot more work to do.” — Dan Isom, interim public safety director
Through Monday, the police department reported 166 homicides in the city. This time in 2020, that number was 233, according to Dan Isom, the city’s interim public safety director.
In 2020, St. Louis recorded its worst homicide rate in 50 years with 263 reported killings, just falling short of breaking the city’s record of 267 in 1993. Even so, because of the population decline in the last three decades, the rate in 2020 was much higher than in 1993 — there were 87 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2020 compared to 69 per 100,000 people in 1993.
In written comments to The St. Louis American, St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden attributed the decrease to several things, including pandemic restrictions and an uptick in protests (they responded to 100 in 2020) that strained the department’s resources resulting in fewer face-to-face interactions with residents.
“This year, however, we were able to get back to more visible patrols, as well as our focus on areas that are known to have more violent crime (specifically shootings and homicides),” Hayden wrote. “With the focus on those areas [and] incidents, the department has worked to combat instances that may have led to the possibility of more incidents.”
In addition, Hayden said working with the Victim Advocacy unit has helped to ensure the safety of those victimized by violent crime from future victimization.
Finally, the chief said the department worked with other agencies to arrest 500 people wanted on felony crime warrants this year.
“I think it is also worth noting that our gun laws allow anyone to have a gun, so personal disputes that were once solved through fistfights, for example, are now leading to gun use, and the department is continuing to work against that factor,” Hayden wrote.
Isom said Monday the department also keeps track of non-fatal shootings in the city.
“So, while we generally report homicides as the major crime that is down compared to last year and slightly down compared to the previous years, assaults with firearms are also down significantly this year as well,” Isom said. “Now … we still have substantial numbers, so it may not feel to the community that we’ve had substantial decreases. So, we’ve got a lot more work to do.”
After a February report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noting 30% of calls to 911 in 2020 were delayed, meaning a dispatcher did not pick up right away, the city has worked to improve the situation. However, Isom said Monday, while the city’s hiring in the 911 call center is maintaining attrition, they’re not gaining ground in terms of increasing the number of employees on the roster.
“We are making some automated changes that we believe will have the effect of increasing the number of calls that we can handle within an acceptable amount of time,” Isom said. “… We’ve already made some changes where we are diverting calls directly to fire [and] EMS. And then we’re working on some virtual agents we hope to have online very soon that will be taking on some non-emergency calls away from [operators]. So that’s the next step.”
In August, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones’ administration announced a plan to merge the fire, EMA and police communication centers into one.
“St. Louisans deserve a 911 system that makes them feel safe and protected,” Jones said at the time. “I appreciate the hard work our 911 dispatchers do to connect residents with lifesaving resources in moments of crisis. My administration is committed to addressing both the short and long-term problems that have faced this system for years.”
As for Perez Reed, he’s in custody at a federal detention center, and an FBI news release called him a “suspected serial killer.” Authorities allege he’s killed four people in the St. Louis region — a teenage runaway killed Sept. 13, a man killed Sept. 26, a woman from Spanish Lake killed Sept. 16 and a St. Louis man killed Sept. 19.
Reed, a St. Louis resident, is also a suspect in two Kansas City killings. No charges have been filed in those cases.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Missouri, FBI St. Louis, the St. Louis County Police Department, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department held a media conference Monday announcing the county’s charges.
When authorities arrested Reed Friday, the FBI reported he was found with a gun matching the shell casings found at several shootings in September where at least six people were shot, four of whom died.
At the media event, Bell emphasized how important interagency cooperation was in the investigation.
“This doesn’t happen without collaboration,” Bell said. “Those who are inclined to commit these kinds of crimes are not adhering to borders and jurisdictions, so it’s imperative that our local law enforcement, as well as our prosecutors’ officers, are working collaboratively to make this community safer.”
