Major Cities Chiefs Association reporting all categories of violent crimes down in first half of 2023

As noted in this Crime and Justice News entry, "reports to police in all four major categories of violent crime declined in the first half of 2023 compared with the similar period last year in a survey answered by 69 large police departments, reports the Major Cities Chiefs Association."  Specifically, as shown in this complete midyear report, these police departments report declines in homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.  (The report also shows crime increases in Canada in three of these four crimes, so something is going distinctively in the right direction in the US in 2023 (although, of course, the number of violent crimes is much greater in the US than in Canada).)

Regular readers should not be too surprised by these data, as I have been tracking encouraging 2023 US homicide data from police departments on a periodic basis (example here).  Still, it is encouraging to see another accounting of positive 2023 US crime trends, especially for a range of violent crimes.  Fingers crossed that the US can continue and build on these positive developments in the months ahead.