Washington state murders reach all-time high: report

A new report shows that murders reached an all-time high in Washington state in 2022.

There were a reported 394 statewide murders last year, which is a 16.6 percent increase from the year prior, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).

This is the highest number of murders recorded since WASPC began collecting this data in 1980. To put into context, homicides have increased 96 percent since 2019, the year before the war on police began with the Democrat-backed "Defund the Police" movement.

In addition, violent crime increased by 8.9 percent in 2022, robberies increased by 18 percent and vehicle theft increased by 34.1 percent, data shows.

Domestic violence offenses topped the list with 45.9 percent of all crimes against persons, according to the report.

Washington State is currently ranked 51 out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the number of officers per thousand residents.

Assault on police officers increased by 20.7 percent in 2022, which is a 42 percent increase since 2018.

In 2021, Washington state passed sweeping police reform legislation in response to the 2020 defund the police movement, which significantly ties the hands of law enforcement officers and allows criminals to commit crimes with impunity.

While the war on police has caused officers to leave both the state and the profession in droves, the Seattle Police Department has seen the most officers exit with nearly 600 officer departures since 2020, according to Mike Solan, President of the Seattle Police Officers Guild.

"Crime is here to stay, unfortunately… since 2020, we've lost 500 cops and counting, and I think that's a recipe for disaster, which is the impetus in my view of crime sweeping this city," Mike Solan told The Post Millennial's Ari Hoffman in January.

In March, Solan released a statement updating the number of officer separations to nearly 600.

The Crime in Washington 2022 report is compiled with data from 231 state, county, municipal, and Tribal agencies and is designed to give residents, elected officials, and law enforcement data-driven information about crime in their communities.