Boston is on track to report a historically low number of murders this year.
The city said Friday it has logged 24 homicides, down one-third from last year and by far the lowest number of shooting deaths since Boston started tracking the figure.
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said at a news conference Friday that when it comes to crime, particularly violent crime: “The city has never been safer. Period.”
Cox said violent crime in Boston fell by 2% this year, while a broader definition of major crimes ticked up 1%, driven by increases in aggravated assaults, commercial burglaries and larceny.
But the biggest headline was the continuing drop in murders.
“They’re certainly the lowest in any modern time and we’re very encouraged by that,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
In the early ’90s, Boston recorded more than 100 murders a year. (The violence in Boston reached an apex in 1990, when the city’s annual homicide count rose to a record high of 142.) In recent years, Boston has averaged more than 40 homicides annually.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu credited a number of factors for the historic low number of murders in 2024, including close coordination between the Boston Police Department and community groups across the city.
Wu cited the work of “community intervention teams” and weekly youth safety meetings that are designed to prevent violence. She also touted a city program that provides 10,000 summer jobs, while noting the Boston Police Academy recently graduated its largest and most diverse class of cadets.
“It’s been all hands on deck,” Wu said. “It’s the dedication of everyone moving in the same direction.”
Violent crime has also fallen nationally, according to a mid-year report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
Springfield, the state’s third largest city by population, has recorded 17 homicides so far this year, down from 32 in 2023, when it saw an unusually violent summer. This year’s tally is similar to its five-year average from 2018 to 2022.
“The number of homicides in 2023 seem to be an outlier statistically speaking,” said Springfield police spokesman Ryan Walsh.
But the numbers aren’t down everywhere. Worcester has so far counted 16 homicides, up from six last year and the largest number in decades. Pittsfield has had one homicide this year, the same as 2023. Numbers were not immediately available from the state police, who handle murder investigations in the rest of the state.
The total number of Boston murders for 2024 could change in the next few days. Boston police are treating one death this month as a homicide, though the medical examiner has yet to issue a ruling.
Homicide numbers typically fluctuate from year to year. But Hayden said he did not think this year’s low figure is an aberration.
“I don’t believe in aberrations. I don’t believe in luck,” Hayden said. “I believe this is the virtue of a lot of good hard word that’s gone into effect in our city and in Suffolk County.”
Hayden noted that the number of non-fatal shootings has also declined. He credited the state’s strict gun laws, focus on the most violent offenders and partnerships with nonprofits and others on intervention programs to reduce violence.
The city has also recorded declines in rapes and robberies so far this year, but the number of assaults has climbed.