WORCESTER, Mass. — Worcester’s most recent crime stats show in 2023 while several categories continued a multi-year decline, crimes involving guns increased.

Interim Police Chief Paul Saucier said the top priority of the department is combatting gun violence. He said one concerning development in recent years is the prevalence of conversion devices which converts a handgun to an automatic weapon.

Police responded to a reported 736 gunshots in 2023, up from 655 in 2022. The data shows there were 34 non-fatal shooting incidents with 39 victims in 2023, compared to 25 non-fatal shootings and 34 victims the year before. 

"We're starting to do different strategies now where we can combat that” said Chief Saucier. “We’re working with the ATF, we’re creating a crime gun intelligence center, we're working with our federal partners who can analyze more evidence and hopefully take that evidence to use to convict more people to keep them in prison versus having them right out on the streets." 

The number of homicides dropped from 12 in 2022 to 6 in 2023. So far this year there have been four homicides in Worcester.

Property crime including breaking and entering, larceny from a motor vehicle, and vandalism all saw a decline, along with disorderly conduct and noise disturbances.