Enrique Martell was preparing to go to work around noon on a summer day when he realized he’d forgotten something in the house. He left his dark green 1996 Honda Accord running in the driveway.
When he came out of his Central El Paso home, he watched in shock as his car was stolen in front of him.
“When I came back, he was driving off,” Martell, 25, said, adding that he was shocked. “I didn’t really know what to do.”
Martell was one of thousands of El Pasoans who became victims of crime in 2023, a year that saw a sharp increase in crime in El Paso even as crime continued to drop nationally after a pandemic spike.
The car theft set off a financial spiral for Martell: His Honda was found wrecked days after the theft and his basic liability insurance did not provide financial compensation. He remains without a car.
“It’s been kind of hard,” he said. “At this time I still haven’t been able to get myself back on my feet.”
Auto theft was a major driver of El Paso’s crime increase last year, but almost all crimes tracked by the FBI rose in 2023 compared to the prior year. That increase defied downward crime trends elsewhere in Texas and the nation.
Crime has increased in El Paso the past two years, after three decades of mostly sharp declines. The last time El Paso had consecutive years of increasing crime was 1995 and 1996, according to FBI data.
Despite the increases the past two years, El Paso still had the lowest crime rate among cities with a population of more than 500,000 that reported data to the FBI, and has long been recognized as one of the safest cities in the nation.
The number of crimes reported in the 2023 preliminary data for El Paso is 22% of the number reported in 1990, the peak year for crime in El Paso, even though the city’s population has grown by 160,000 in that time.
El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas, who was hired to lead the department in October, acknowledged the rise in crime and said the department is working to address it.
“In general, I think it’s a society problem, people just don’t have respect for each other,” he said. “You go into stores now and that common El Paso courtesy – you just don’t see that for whatever reason.”
Pacillas said the department tracks local crime figures weekly to determine where resources need to be prioritized if there are spikes in different parts of the city. The department also looks at year-to-date data on a regular basis, he said.
The FBI releases Quarterly Uniform Crime Reports based on cities reporting crime data to the agency. EPPD provides crime statistics to the FBI. Final numbers for 2023 are expected to be released in October.
Nationwide, only five cities with a population of more than 500,000 people saw a larger crime increase than El Paso: Washington D.C., Memphis, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Property crimes
In El Paso, auto theft and arson had the two highest spikes – up 51.5% and 51.6%, respectively, according to FBI data. In 2023, nearly 2,160 car thefts and 94 arson cases were reported, the preliminary data show.
The two categories fall under property crimes, which were up almost 10% overall. Other property crimes that increased in 2023 over the previous year include burglary, which rose 4% to 1,013, and larceny thefts, which saw a 2% increase to 7,153.
Pacillas attributed the increase in car thefts partly to a social media trend that showed KIA and Hyundai models being easily stolen.
“We saw a spike overnight,” he said, adding most of the vehicles were stolen for joy riding or to commit other crimes such as beer runs.
In response, the police department and Auto Theft Task Force hosted a free event earlier this year in partnership with Hyundai manufacturers to help car owners make the necessary modifications to deter thefts. He said they are also working to educate the community about preventative measures, such as not leaving anything of value in their vehicles.
Data reported by the El Paso Police Department to the FBI showed that auto thefts have increased significantly each year since 2021. El Paso’s auto theft numbers are a tiny fraction of the levels of the early 1990s, when they regularly surpassed 5,500 each year.
Auto theft has grown significantly across the country since the pandemic, according to FBI data.
Violent crimes
Violent crimes – which include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – showed a 1% increase overall.
The report showed El Paso had 33 murders in 2023 – an increase of 50% over 2022. Robberies increased 13% to 305 last year, while aggravated assaults rose 1.3% to 1,567.
“Last year, we had those multiple house parties,” Pacillas said. “We had multiple victims that happened out there (and) we had shootings at different parts (of town).”
Pacillas said the department started a Violent Crime Task Force that joins the gang and tactical units.
“Violent crimes are where people are getting shot; whether it was road rage or incidents at the nightclubs,” Pacillas said. “That’s how we were able to catch that subject that was pulling out a rifle in the Cincinnati district (last August). We had undercovers in there.”
Rape was the only crime that saw a decrease, dropping 15% over last year with 256 reported in 2023, according to the data.
Pacillas said he is not sure why there was a decrease in rape cases, but said he hopes that “people are coming forward to report them.”
Pacillas said the department has victim assistance programs for a multitude of crimes that help people navigate the criminal justice system – and hopefully get them the help that they need after crimes such as sexual assault.
