Homicides ebb in Miami-Dade, but violent crime is up

Homicides in Miami-Dade to be declining this year, but overall violent crime is on the rise, according to a midyear survey of large U.S. law enforcement agencies.

The big picture: Miami-Dade is part of a national trend captured in the survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Associations, which shows that homicides are dropping in most major U.S. cities but total violent crime is increasing.

• Homicides decreased by 2.4% and rapes fell by 5% in major cities from Jan. 1 to June 30, compared with the same period last year, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. Meanwhile, overall crime spiked 4.2%.

Zoom in: The survey shows Miami-Dade police handled 38% fewer homicides through the first six months of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021.

• Homicides dropped to 39 from 60 during that period, the survey found.
• City of Miami police saw homicides decrease to 20 from 24 then.

Yes, but: Robberies and aggravated assaults increased for both Miami-Dade and the city of Miami, and Miami-Dade has seen an increase in rapes, per the survey.

• Miami-Dade police saw rapes rise 21% during the survey period, while robberies increased 50% and aggravated assaults went up 25%.
• For Miami, rapes decreased 36% but robberies went up 21% and aggravated assaults saw a 2% uptick.

Flashback: In the first half of 2021, Miami-Dade experienced a rash of gun violence, including two mass shootings that killed four and injured 26.

• Miami-Dade police responded with a new gun violence program to put more cops on patrol, confiscate weapons and add resources to investigate and prosecute homicides, the Miami Herald reported.

What they're saying: Miami-Dade Police detective Argemis Colome told Axios the program remains in effect and that MDPD districts have seen a decrease in shootings from 2021 to 2022.

• "The statistical results continue to display a measurable impact in diminishing gun violence within the targeted areas," Colome said. "We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to curtail crime and be a resource for our community."

Of note: The survey isn't official crime data. But it's used to gauge crime trends ahead of the release of the FBI Uniform Crime Report that comes out in October — citizens' primary way to understand how crime is changing nationwide.

Plus: The survey does not include numbers for police departments in other big cities, including Hialeah, Miami Gardens and Miami Beach.

• Miami-Dade police, the largest agency in the county, investigates homicides in its unincorporated areas — which exceeds over 1 million residents — and for the 27 cities with police departments that do not have homicide bureaus, the Herald has reported.