Is Austin safe? Statistics show crime down from 2023 but pre-pandemic numbers differ

AUSTIN, Texas - Statistics show reported crime is down in Austin in 2024 compared to 2023, but not necessarily the same can be said comparing to pre-pandemic numbers.

"There's this national dialog about the perceptions of public safety versus what people are experiencing," University of Texas at Austin professor Jamein Cunningham said.

Is Austin a safe place?

"Austin was a safe, small, smallish town, and it's turned into, kind of scary," Austin resident Aleck Wagman said.

"Overall, Austin is a very safe city," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said.

"I think the question becomes what is the crime level relative to pre-pandemic levels of crime is more so the question, especially with Austin and other cities dealing with being under policing and and also just individuals having a feeling that crime is high," Cunningham said.

What do the statistics show?

Comparing 2019 reported crime stats to those in 2024, property crimes in a mixed back. Shoplifting and burglary are down, but motor vehicle theft is way up.

SHOPLIFTING

• 2019: 3,201
• 2023: 1,787
• 2024: 2,047

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT

• 2019: 2,978
• 2023: 6,891
• 2024: 5,529

BURGLARY

• 2019: 4,293
• 2023: 4,490
• 2024: 3,728

As for violent crimes, robberies are down, but aggravated assaults, kidnappings, and homicides are up.

KIDNAPPING

• 2019: 170
• 2023: 254
• 2024: 237

ROBBERY

• 2019: 1,058
• 2023: 908
• 2024: 776

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

• 2019: 2,576
• 2023: 3,449
• 2024: 2,762

"In general, half of the crimes that occur are reported," Cunningham said, ""What we really care about, like crime statistics is homicide, because that is a number that can't really be influenced by people's feelings about reporting crime."

In 2019, Austin police reported 36 homicides. In 2024, APD reported 70.

"How can we get at least homicides down to the pre-pandemic level, right, is this something related to the number of officers? Austin has grown quite a bit, especially with the boom during the pandemic. Is there enough officers and enough resources? And so, these are questions that need to be addressed," Cunningham said.

Most crimes, including homicides, are down compared to 2023. Austin Police Chief Davis applauds her department.

"Crime is low here for a reason, it is low here for a reason, and that is because of the work that they've done and the things that have been in place and so how do we look at that and keep crime low while we're still addressing the calls for service and we're addressing the current homicides," Chief Davis said.

She said she plans to continue working with elected officials, like the Travis County District Attorney.

"The district attorney's office works hand in hand with the Austin Police Department every single day. There are dedicated public servants here in the district attorney's office and at the Austin Police Department who do the hard work of keeping our community safe, of winning justice for victims of crime every day outside of the spotlight," Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said. "We have made an enormous amount of progress together, and I think this community has seen the results of that over the last couple of years."

 

CrimeWatchAustin