Report shows Washington homicides have declined, along with rate of commissioned officers

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Unlike the state of Washington and the City of Vancouver, Clark County saw the number of homicides slightly increase from 2022 to 2023.

On Tuesday, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs published its annual data on crimes reported statewide. The organization revealed there were 376 murders recorded throughout Washington last year, a 5.8% drop from the previous year and an 81.1% surge since 2019.

Specifically in Clark County, the Sheriff’s Office reported 10 homicides in 2023 compared to seven in 2022. In Vancouver, police officers reported eight homicides last year — down from 11 cases the year prior.

Crimes against property made up most of the offenses statewide, at 73.1%. Crimes against people followed with 22.5%, while crimes against society — such as drug violations or animal cruelty — made up the remaining offenses.

According to the data, violent crimes occurred most frequently in the month of May and least frequently in the month of February.

The review also details the top offenses recorded by Washington’s multitude of law enforcement agencies. For the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Vancouver Police Department, larceny, destruction of property and “simple assaults” were the most common offenses.

Additionally, the report shows law enforcement staffing through Washington is one of the lowest in the U.S.

“While our state added 94 net officers in 2023, we fell even further behind in staffing because of population increases and are again 51st in the nation in staffing,” WASPC wrote on Facebook. “To get to the average number of officers per capita, we would have to add 8,000 more — an 80% increase.”

As of Oct. 31, 2023, VPD had about 1.06 commissioned police officers for every 1,000 residents. CCSO had about 0.57 commissioned officers for every 1,000 residents.