Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston Police Department announced today that for the first time in more than a year, Houston’s homicide rate is showing a decline. As of today, there is an unofficial number of 187 homicides in Houston thus far in 2022 compared to 192 homicides at this time last year.

The nearly 3% decline in the city's homicide rate is an indication of the efficacy of the One Safe Houston initiative, a comprehensive public safety plan aimed at holistically addressing and in some cases rebuilding the public safety ecosystem in Houston.

“I commend HPD for the work it is doing,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “We have put more officers on the streets through overtime and cadet classes. There is still too much gun violence in our city and too many guns in the hands of dangerous and violent individuals, but our work and that of the Houston Police Department is making a difference.”

As of this morning, HPD is showing decreases in all 4 major violent crime categories. The reported number of robberies are down about 14%, while reported rapes have decreased by 33% and aggravated assaults have lowered by more than 9%.”

"Thank you to our citizens for your continued support. We need you to help us solve violent crimes and that increased interaction with our citizens is working,” said Executive Chief Assistant Matt Slinkard. “To the hard-working men and women of HPD and our fellow law enforcement officers in this region, thank you for doing what you are doing. Collectively, we are making a difference."

One Safe Houston is a $50 million investment funded by the American Rescue Plan and focuses on four key areas:

• Violence Reduction and Crime Prevention

• Crisis Intervention, Response and Recovery

• Youth Outreach Opportunities

• Key Community Partnerships

The City of Houston plans to launch a gun buyback program in July and in partnership with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis’ office.

For more information on the One Safe Houston initiative, please visit https://www.houstontx.gov/onesafehouston/.