A snapshot of this year's crime in Salt Lake City

Homicides in Salt Lake City declined during the first six months of 2022 compared to the same time period last year, according to a midyear survey of major law enforcement agencies in the U.S.

• It compares crimes that occurred from Jan. 1 to June 30 in 2021 and 2022.

Yes, but: The number of rapes and robberies in Utah's capital city was up.

Why it matters: The survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Association isn't official crime data, but it's used to gauge crime trends ahead of the October release of the FBI Uniform Crime Report, Axios' Russell Contreras writes.

By the numbers: Homicides during the first half of 2022 were down by about 22% compared to last year, from nine to seven.

• Rapes and robberies increased by about 14% and 4%, respectively.
• Aggravated assaults declined by less than 2%.

The big picture: As of August, overall, crime was down about 9% from last year, with violent crime down about 3% and property crime down 10%, Brent Weisberg, spokesman for Salt Lake City police, told Axios.

What they're saying: "Overall right now, we're seeing pretty good numbers," Weisberg said — not just on crime volume, but also response time, which is down more than a minute from last year.

Zoom out: Salt Lake City's increase in rapes does not reflect national trends, where the number of rapes declined by nearly 5% nationwide.

Zoom in: Utah ranks 9th in the nation for number of rapes per capita, according to a 2022 report by the Utah Women & Leadership Project at Utah State University.