Like Greensboro, Winston-Salem is having a record year for homicides

Winston-Salem police say 2023 is a record-high year for homicides.

There have been 46 homicides recorded so far, compared to 35 at this same time last year. 

The trend has been up and down. The new record breaks a peak of 44 last reached in 2021. That represented a spike from the previous year. 

The numbers declined last year but have now surged to a new high. Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn, Jr. says that cycle is hard to understand, especially since most other major crimes have declined.

"There have been less shootings this year, there've been less robberies this year, there've been less rapes this year," he says. "So we're still scratching our heads at that, too.”

The department has struggled to fill openings, and Penn says that includes vacancies in the Criminal Investigations Division, which handles major crimes like homicides.

But the employment picture appears to be improving. Penn says more people are applying and the number of vacancies has dropped.

Greensboro also set a record for homicides back in November after a violent weekend pushed the number to 65. That broke a previous record set in 2020.