VERIFY: Is violent crime increasing in Austin?

AUSTIN, Texas — In a press conference on Tuesday announcing a legislative proposal that freezes property tax revenue for cities that vote to defund police departments, Gov. Greg Abbott stated Austin has seen an increase in crime, specifically murders, aggravated robberies and robberies.

The conference comes after the Austin City Council's decision to cut around $150 million, approximately 33%, from the Austin Police Department's budget.

“They will never be able to increase property tax revenue again if they defund police,” Abbott said in Fort Worth. "Defunding the police puts Texans in danger and invites lawlessness into our cities, and cities that endanger their residents should not be able to turn around and raise more taxes from those same Texans."

RELATED: Cities like Austin that defund police departments will face freeze on property taxes, Gov. Abbott proposes

But how much exactly has violent crime increased in Austin?

According to a report looking at data from June, the Wall Street Journal reported Austin saw a 64.29% increase in homicides compared to the same point last year. Specifically, there were 14 murders at the end of June 2019 and 23 murders by the end of June 2020.

According to July data, that increase has fallen a bit. There were 19 murders at the end of July 2019, compared to 29 at the end of July 2020 – that's an increase of about 53%.

According to the APD's July 2020 crime report, crimes against persons have only increased by about 1% compared to last year. Of those, only the following types of crimes saw an increase:

• murder – 53% (from 19 to 29)
• aggravated assault – 17% (from 1,497 to 1,748)
• intimidation – 6% (from 3,303 to 3,509)
• incest – 300% (from 0 to 3)
• statutory rape – 50% (from 16 to 24)

RELATED: City council votes to slash $150 million from Austin Police Department, approves city budget

Meanwhile, crimes against property actually saw a 3% decrease compared to last year. Among those, however, certain crimes saw an increase:

• robbery – 9% (from 570 to 623)
• arson – 23% (from 62 to 76)
• extortion – 133% (9 to 21)
• burglary – 8% (2,328 to 2,512)

To view the complete crime report, click here.

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