Watch Art Franklin‘s Your Voice Your Station report in the player above. In the story below, we dive deeper into the numbers.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — According to Birmingham Police Department data, murders in the city are up significantly, year over year.

“We can show that crime is down overall,” Chief Patrick Smith of the Birmingham Police Department said. “But there’s one number that sticks out, and that’s our homicide number.”

Data released Nov. 30 shows the murder rate in Birmingham is up by 15.7% from 2019.

“The community has to be willing to step up and say this is not acceptable in our community,” Chief Smith said.

The data shows other violent crimes in Birmingham are down year over year.

Crime Type	YTD 2020	YTD 2019	Percent Change (%)
Homicide	96	83	+15.7
Rape	79	149	-47
Robbery	441	717	-38.5
Aggravated Assaults	2,273	2,692	-15.6
Total Violent Crimes	2,889	3,641	-20.7

Birmingham Police’s jurisdiction is divided into four precincts: North, South, East, and West.

1. The North Precinct

The North Precinct patrols North Birmingham. In total, violent crimes in the North Precinct were down by 19.3%. As with the city, homicides were the only type of violent crime to increase in the precinct.

Crime Type	YTD 2020	YTD 2019	Percent Change (%)
Homicide	15	13	+15.4
Rape	8	30	-73.3
Robbery	70	122	-42.6
Aggravated Assaults	380	421	-9.7
Total Violent Crimes	473	586	-19.3

2. The South Precinct

The South Precinct patrols the areas around Five Points South, including the southern part of the UAB campus. Homicides in this precinct were up by seven.

Crime Type	YTD 2020	YTD 2019	Percent Chance (%)
Homicide	19	12	58.3
Rape	24	30	-20
Robbery	99	174	-43.1
Aggravated Assaults	406	460	-11.7
Total Violent Crimes	548	676	-18.9

3. The East Precinct

The East Precinct patrols the areas around Woodcrest, Roebuck and Huffman neighborhoods. This is the only precinct in which homicides decreased.

Crime Type	YTD 2020	YTD 2019	Percent Change (%)
Homicide	25	27	-7.4
Rape	22	42	-47.6
Robbery	132	195	-32.3
Aggravated Assaults	655	757	-13.5
Total Violent Crimes	834	1,012	-18.3

4. The West Precinct

The West Precinct patrols the areas around Ensley, Highlands, Central Park, and West End.

Crime Type	YTD 2020	YTD 2019	Percent Change (%)
Homicide	37	30	23.3
Rape	25	46	-45.7
Robbery	140	211	-33.6
Aggravated Assaults	832	1,021	-18.5
Total Violent Crimes	1,034	1,308	-20.7

Chief Smith says citizens can help the police address the increase in homicides by becoming more involved in the community.

He suggests residents “work with their area captain, work with their officers in the field…attend the community meetings, [and] become involved in the police department.”

“We need them. We need what they see,” Chief Smith said.

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