Wichita police chief Gordon Ramsay told city council members Tuesday that homicides have been stable and the numbers have declined for shootings, robberies and sexual assaults, but the numbers are going up for aggravated assault and domestic assault cases.

The chief presented a report at a city council workshop discussion on 2019 crime trends.  He said there were 37 criminal homicides last year and 36 in 2018.  With accidental and justifiable homicides factored in, the number goes up to 44 for both years.    Ramsay said the police department solved 91 percent of the homicide cases last year, compared to a national average of 60 percent.

The chief said there were 142 shootings last year, the lowest number since 2016.   There were 154 shootings in 2018.   He said police have been focusing on efforts to reduce gun violence, and technology has also helped with investigations and crime prevention efforts.

The city had 421 sexual assaults last year, and Ramsay said a great majority of them involve people who know each other.  He said the number is often driven by social media, with women meeting men through web sites and ending up as assault victims.   He said the department has been working to educate the public on the dangers involved and the importance of using good judgement.

Chief Ramsay said 2019 was the fourth year in a row for a decrease in robberies.  There were 478 last year, compared to 595 in 2018.   He said this year is on track to have even fewer robberies.    He said there was also a dramatic drop in burglaries from 2018 to 2019, but the department still receives more reports than they can get to in a timely manner.  He said the department gets a number of videos from security cameras, and there are discussions about new technology to help the department process those videos.

There has been an increase in aggravated assaults and domestic assaults.   There were 2,423 assaults last year, compared to 2,389 in 2018.    He said there is great concern over an increase in domestic assaults, and there have been issues with shelters being full and a lack of resources for victims.

The chief told council members that the department is continuing to work this year on community engagement and programs to reach young people.  He said the department is working to create a juvenile unit that will look at how kids are dealt with after they are caught in criminal activity.    Ramsay said the department is also working on some changes to the city’s nuisance ordinance to address problems with properties that have repeated incidents of criminal activity.