That witticism, I’ll call it “Einstein Insanity,” is attributed to Albert Einstein.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) has been collecting crime data since 1980. In its 43rd report, which analyzed 2022’s crime data across the state, the numbers are alarming.
“The rate of murders, violent and property crimes, rose across the state, while the number of officers available to respond and serve our communities decreased again in 2022,” the report read. “There were 394 murders in 2022, an increase of 16.6% over 2021. This is the highest number of murders recorded since WASPC began collecting this data. Homicides have increased by 96% since 2019. Crimes against persons, property, and society all increased in 2022, and violent crimes showed an increase of 8.9%.”
Other significant trends the report disclosed were motor vehicle theft rising by 34%, nearly 46% of all crimes against persons were defined as domestic violence, and 544 hate crimes were reported last year, all while the state logged 719 fewer arrests for drug or narcotic violations.
“The total number of commissioned officers statewide was 10,666, down from 10,736 in 2021, while the total population of the state increased by 93,262,” the report continued. “Washington again is ranked 51st out of the 50 states and District of Columbia for the number of officers per thousand residents. Reported cases of officers assaulted were 2,375 in 2022, an increase of 20.7%.”
This follows a pattern the state saw last year with increases in violent crime. According to WASPC’s report, violent crime increased by 12.3% from 2020 to 2021. There were 325 murders recorded in 2021, an increase of 5.9% over 2020. The year 2021 had the highest number of murders recorded before 2022 broke its record.
“With that increase of 16.6% compared to 2021, compared to that all-time high of 394,” said Steve Strachan, executive director of WASPC, “That is 96% more murders than we had in 2019.”
We have never seen murder rates this high in Washington.
“This is not the same as every national trend,” Strachan said. “It is not. I’ve sensed sometimes people, like—’Well, there’s nothing we can do, it’s a national trend, it’s like this everywhere.’ Well, the data’s not reflecting that right now.”
Strachan said this is something policymakers need to confront, along with individual communities.
He also compares the current data to numbers back in 1994, a time when gang violence was up, and numbers for murder and rape were surging.
“That correlation is an important one, and to think about the fact that there were 2,000 more officers and deputies on the street, if we still had the same relatively low per-capita number that we had in 1994,” Strachan said.
Another statistic of concern, according to this report—the number of violent incidents towards officers and deputies has risen 20% since last year, at 2,375 assaults.
“That is a number that is wholly unacceptable,” Strachan said. “We have to find a way to change that. It shakes me to the core, the number of officers assaulted, which really makes up almost a quarter of the officers in our state.”
If Washington had the national average of officers-to-population, we would have more than 7,000 officers commissioned than we do right now.
Voting for the same people that gave Washington the chaotic, unsafe, anti-police laws is “Einstein Insanity.”
