
The Danville Police Department has announced that overall crime reduction trends have continued for a fifth year in a row in the city. According to the department, crime rates fell 8% overall across major crime categories in 2024 when compared to 2023.
For major violent crimes, Danville had nine homicides in 2024 and 111 aggravated assault victims.
Of the nine homicides, seven of those cases have been cleared by arrest. The other two cases – the March homicide on Cabell Street and the September homicide on Spring Street – remain under investigation. The Department continues to actively work leads and pursue suspects in those cases.
In 2024, Danville had a reduction in firearm related shootings, 63 down from 84 the year prior in aggravated assaults. Of those 63, a total of 25 were wounded and 38 were not wounded. Compared to 2023, there were 40 wounded and 44 not wounded. Aggravated assaults experienced a rise in the number of other weapons being used to commit such crimes, from 28 in 2023 to 48 in 2024. Other weapons are defined as anything used to cause bodily harm other than a firearm.
Robberies continue to decline. There were 22 robberies in 2024 with 15 being cleared by arrest.
In terms of comparison to the national averages determined by the FBI in 2023, the Department’s solve rates far exceed those averages. For 2024, 78% of homicides were cleared by arrest compared to the 57.8% national average. For aggravated assaults, the Department cleared 82% of victim’s cases by arrest compared to 46.1% nationally. For robberies, 68.2% of cases were cleared by arrest compared to 27.6% nationally.
Property crimes continue to show historic lows. Burglaries dropped from 98 in 2023 to 92, with 52.2% of 2024’s cases being cleared by arrest. The national average is 14.4%. In addition, stealing from motor vehicles dropped from 165 in 2023 to 144.
The Department reminds everyone of the importance of removing valuables, including keys, from vehicles when exiting, and locking them away out of sight when taking valuables inside isn’t possible.
Theft of motor vehicles dropped 31% from 91 in 2023 to 63.
This data is preliminary and will be finalized in the coming months when the window for reporting updates to 2024 crimes to the Virginia State Police closes.