Through the end of June, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reports that there have been 49 homicides in the City of St. Louis. This represents the second lowest number at the midpoint of a year in 51 years. Seventy-four homicides were recorded in 2003 and before that, one must look back to 1962 to find a count lower than the current 2013 pace of 98. In 2012 there were 56 homicides January-June and 57 July-December.
Of course there's a little more to the story than the raw count. Considering population changes, and therefore the homicide rate, adds perspective. If 2013 totals 98 homicides, the rate will be near 31/100,000. This would nearly equal the rates of 2002, 1998 and 1994. And still, other than those years, you would need to return to the mid-60's to find lower homicide rates in the city. The 92 homicides in 1962 translate to a homicide rate of just 12.7/100,000 at a time when the city population was 725,000. Similar years to the 2013 pace appear in red boxes below.
The 2012 month-to-month and total numbers:
