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ST. LOUIS — The city saw a drop of more than 40 homicides in 2023 — and every other type of major reported crime was down, too.

St. Louis police reported 158 killings in 2023, marking its fewest in a decade. That number, which doesn’t include seven homicides that were ruled justifiable for reasons including self-defense, is down from 200 in 2022 and 201 the year prior, according to department data.

The same was true for other types of reported crime: Shootings were down 24% from 772 in 2022 to 552; felony thefts were down 39%; auto thefts were down 19%; and shootings involving juveniles were down 47%.

And for all of St. Louis County, homicides dropped 24%, from 94 in 2022 to about 73 in 2023.

The trends are encouraging for the St. Louis region, where for years the city’s homicide rate was among the highest in the nation. City leaders touted the numbers as a sign that their crime reduction efforts are having an effect.

“By addressing violent crime head-on and partnering with community organizations to provide additional services, we are putting St. Louis on the right track,� Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said in a statement Tuesday.

But Alex Piquero, a professor of criminology at the University of Miami and former Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, said the next few months will indicate if this year’s homicide drops are a real trend.

“Is this going to be sustained? That’s the question,� Piquero said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. “I want to know at the end of this month from the city of St. Louis, OK, where are our numbers compared to last month?�

St. Louis’ trends weren’t unique — homicides were down almost everywhere in the U.S. this year. Nationwide, they were down 13%, and several other cities, including Baltimore, Atlanta and Milwaukee saw decreases similar to St. Louis.

Kansas City, where homicides were up 7% from 170 to 182, was one of the few exceptions. Memphis, where homicides were up 31% from 181 to 238, was another.

Locally, Jones credited several efforts spearheaded by new Chief Robert Tracy during his first year on the job.

As Tracy dealt with a record low in officer staffing, he also emphasized data-driven police strategies — which include community policing, keeping officers in the same areas from one shift to another, and a focus on sharing information with community organizations, other police departments and prosecutors.

Tracy also tapped a local nonprofit for almost $1 million to fund overtime shifts in the downtown area.

“Each of these strategies has been proven effective in communities large and small across the country, and we are seeing the impact of this layered approach in St. Louis as well,� Tracy wrote in a statement.

But the city also needs to provide more transparent crime data if officials are going to say their efforts are why crime is down, said Ness Sandoval, a professor of sociology and demography at Saint Louis University.

In December 2020, the police department abruptly turned off its public spigot of detailed geographic crime data, which has left community groups, the public and researchers like Sandoval without data points that are key to understanding crime trends in the city.

“We have a long way to go,� Sandoval said. “I’m glad to see that crime is down and glad to see the homicides are down. I’m glad to see that things are getting better. But until there’s full transparency with the data, there will always be this perception about the safety of the city, which is unfortunate.�

Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, an organization that aims to create jobs and enhance the local economy, applauded efforts by the city, police and new city prosecutor Gabe Gore.

“In the Spring of 2023, the business community took a leadership role in calling out the metro’s homicide crisis and the need for a regional violent crime reduction strategy, and regional leadership responded by stepping up and working with national experts and local community leaders to address the crisis,� Hall said in a written statement.