A homicide this weekend in the city of Tuscaloosa ties a a 20-year record high, according to data provided Tuesday and historical reporting.

The killing at Creekwood Village Apartments before dawn Saturday was the 16th in the city so far this year, a city spokesperson told the Thread, a number not seen since 2006.

The data in the table below comes in response to a records request from the Thread seeking the annual number of homicides within city limits since 2000.

The data above shows annual totals, not year-to-date comparisons, so this year's number of homicides has already matched a 20-year high and there are more than four months left in it.

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"SINCE 2006, CRIME IS DOWN"

Last week, though, during the State of the Community panel and again in his Mayor's Minute weekly note, Mayor Walt Maddox has been celebrating a reduction in crime and said local media outlets are partially responsible for a perception that things are worse than data backs up.

"Our number one priority is public safety, and 40 percent of the City’s budget targets this core service," Maddox said at the event and in his written message. "The efforts of the Tuscaloosa Police Department are making a difference. Since 2006, crime is down, even with a population growth of over 25,000 inside the City. However, it often feels the opposite."

"We receive news 24/7 on our smart phones, and stories regarding crime drive up engagement and interaction on digital media platforms," Maddox said. "In layman’s terms, we are bombarded by the same story over 48 to 96 hours."

To employ one of Maddox's go-to quotes from Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "you are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” So how can his messaging seemingly conflict with the record-high homicide count?

THE DATA

As the Thread first reported in April, last year, crime in the city was down year-over-year across all "Big Five" categories that municipalities share in reports compiled by the FBI. They include homicides, burglaries, robberies, vehicle break-ins and vehicle thefts.

And especially when you zoom out 5 years, 18 to Maddox's first term in office or back 30 years, the reductions across the board are striking - especially considering the growth in city population over the same period.

"Violent crime in Tuscaloosa has fallen 49% from 1993 to 2022, with a 59% reduction in property crime during that time," a city spokesperson told the Thread.

This is a trend worth celebrating and both Maddox and Blankley did so in comments provided for this report.

"The incredible efforts of the Tuscaloosa Police Department have made our community safer. This is what our citizens deserve and TPD’s officers are relentless in protecting our neighborhoods and businesses," Maddox said. "TPD’s achievements are even more remarkable when you consider the population growth over the past two decades coupled with the immense challenges in the state’s mental health and criminal justice systems."

Blankley was sworn in as chief of the Tuscaloosa Police Department in March 2020 and is also proud of the long-term data showing a safer city.

"Our officers have done and continue to do an amazing job keeping our community safe, and the data that we are providing supports that," Blankley said. "We arrest, and re-arrest the same individuals, but we are just the first step in the criminal justice system. Beyond that, we have to trust that our state leaders are going to address mental health, recidivism and the proliferation of illegal fire arms on the streets."

HOMICIDES HISTORICALLY HIGH

Still, a decades-long trend in break-ins and car thefts does not offset the bloodiest year since 2006. While some of the city's 16 homicides are not likely to be ruled murder - two were committed by TPD officers and a third may have been self-defense - you don't have to go far to hear others acknowledge the problem.

"In today's time, we are challenged by a lot of evil things in our community. Violent crime is at a high - it's sad - 27 years I've been police and this is the worst I've ever seen it," Deputy Police Chief Sebo Sanders said in June, when there were still just 12 homicides in the city limits to date this year, not 16.

"We turn on the TV and we have teenagers getting killed, teenagers getting shot, teenagers who've been incarcerated for a senseless crime and when you ask them what's going on, they don't have any idea," Sanders said.

The 16 homicide cases in the city match a number not seen since 2006. That year, there were also 10 additional killings in the broader Tuscaloosa County area for a total of 26 investigated by the force now called the Violent Crimes Unit.

That made 2006 the deadliest year in the county since 1975 and tied an all-time record according to the Tuscaloosa News.

So far, the 2024 countywide number sits at 22, according to data kept by the Thread, with 16 being committed in the city of Tuscaloosa.

For more coverage of crime and other news in west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.