Shootings, reports of gunfire, robberies and aggravated assaults declined in Worcester through the first eight months of 2026, according to new Police Department data, continuing decreases seen in several measures of violence over the past two years.
The sharpest declines came in gun violence.
Worcester recorded five nonfatal shooting incidents involving six victims through August, compared with nine shootings and 10 victims during the same period in 2025. In 2024, there were 12 nonfatal shootings involving 14 victims.
The 2026 figures are also well below the five-year averages displayed by the department for both nonfatal shootings and victims.
Reports of gunfire fell from 262 through August 2025 to 225 during the same period this year, a decline of about 14%. Confirmed gunfire dropped more sharply, from 40 incidents to 26, a 35% decrease.
Both measures have fallen considerably since 2023, when police recorded 495 reports of gunfire and confirmed 114 incidents through August.
Robberies also declined. Police recorded 80 through August, down from 105 during the same period last year, a decrease of nearly 24%. The 2026 total is the lowest among the six years displayed in the department’s data, which stretch back to 2021.
Aggravated assaults declined more modestly, from 479 through August 2025 to 434 this year, a decrease of about 9%. The latest figure is also below the five-year average shown by police.
Homicides were the exception to the broader downward trend.
Worcester recorded four homicides through August, compared with two during the same period in 2025. All four homicides this year were classified as killings involving a knife, according to the department’s data.
The four homicides remain below totals recorded at the same point in several recent years. Police reported nine through August 2024, 10 in 2022 and six in 2021. The department recorded one homicide through August 2023.
The police department shared the year-to-date statistics on social media, comparing crime data through August for each year from 2021 through 2026.
The Worcester Guardian has requested the department’s complete report accompanying the figures, including additional crime categories and information about factors police believe may be contributing to the changes.
The latest figures continue a trend the department reported earlier. In its midyear 2025 crime report, Worcester police said several measures of violent crime had declined from the previous year, including shootings, robberies and reports of gunfire. At the time, Police Chief Paul Saucier attributed some of those declines to increased patrol activity.
The department also maintains police incident data through the city’s Informing Worcester open-data portal, though navigating and interpreting the data can require considerably more work than the name might suggest.
