WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The FBI just released a report that shows violent crime is going down nationally.
It looks at crime trends for January through March 2024, compared to the same time frame last year.
Nationally, reported violent crime decreased by 15%, and murder was more than 26% lower.
Robbery dipped by nearly 18%, and aggravated assault dropped by under 13%.
The FBI got the information from 14,000 of the 19,000 law enforcement agencies across the country.
One of those reporting agencies is the Winston-Salem Police Department, also seeing that positive trend.
Winston-Salem Police Captain Kyle Krawczyk said it's a positive trend to see.
"All of our violent crimes have reduced, and in our first quarter of this year, especially the homicides, which is very notable, we've had a 50% decrease in homicides this year compared to last year at this time," said Krawczyk.
Krawczyk said their Violent Firearms Investigation Team, Gun Crime Reduction Unit, and Real-Time Crime Center are a big part of their success.
"It's outstanding to see the work that we do as a law enforcement agency in conjunction with other local departments to see this decrease in crime," said Krawczyk. "Of course, that's what we want. That's what the community wants."
Winston-Salem is not alone in that success.
In Greensboro, homicides have been down 28% in the past year.
There are fewer aggravated assault cases, from 312 in 2023 to 281 in 2024.
Also, officers have seized 152 more guns compared to last year.