Crime fell in every category in Wichita during the first eight months of 2026, the Wichita Police Department reported Sept. 2.

The department's statistics, covering Jan. 1 through Aug. 31, show declines in all Part 1 violent and property crimes compared to the same period in 2025, according to KAKE.

Wichita recorded 16 murder cases through Aug. 31, four fewer than the 20 logged at the same point in 2025. Rape cases declined 13 percent, with 194 reported through Aug. 31. Robbery and aggravated assault also fell, though the department did not release specific percentage drops for those categories.

Property crimes saw some of the steepest declines. Burglary cases dropped 25 percent. Auto theft fell 22 percent. Larceny was down 17 percent.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) said in July that Kansas' crime index rate had hit its lowest point in 57 years.

The downward trajectory is not new. In a December 2025 statistics release, the department said Part 1 crimes were down 13 percent through November 2025 compared to the same stretch of 2024.

At that time, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft were all below both 2024 and the five-year average. Murders and rapes, however, had ticked slightly higher through November 2025, with 33 homicides compared to 32 in 2024 and 280 reported rapes compared to 270.

The 2026 figures suggest those two categories have since reversed course. Murder cases are running 20 percent below 2025's pace through Aug. 31, and rape cases are down 13 percent.

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan pointed to the department's investigative work in an Oct. 9, 2025, press release about a homicide arrest. Sullivan said the department had "a 96% homicide clearance rate" and that Part 1 crime arrests were up 12 percent at that time.

"But it doesn't prevent a homicide when the people involved already know each other," Sullivan said in the October 2025 statement.

The department has not announced when it will release the next round of crime statistics. Residents can report crime tips to Wichita police or Crime Stoppers.