Pittsburgh's South Side not getting more violent, crime stats show

Though some have voiced concerns that Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood is more dangerous, crime data from Pittsburgh police indicate violent crime there is decreasing.

From January through June, the neighborhood saw eight aggravated assault charges, 21 simple assault charges and four criminal mischief charges, according to crime statistics provided by police officials this week.

Since 2017, arrests in the neighborhood have been dropping, police data shows. There were 161 arrest incidents in South Side in 2017 compared to 76 last year. In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, 2020 saw the fewest arrests in South Side over a five-year period with 68.

There have been 25 arrest incidents through June of this year, according to police.

The neighborhood last year saw about a third of the aggravated assault arrests it had seen in 2017. Last year, there were 21 aggravated assault charges issued in South Side, compared to 27 the year prior and 66 in 2017, police reported.

Police made 49 arrest charges for simple assault in the neighborhood last year, which was up slightly from the 42 arrest charges for the same crime the prior year. Still, that number is down from 84 charges for simple assault in 2017.

According to Pittsburgh police, there were 19 charges for criminal mischief last year, down slightly from 25 five years prior.

Police made two arrest charges for homicide in the neighborhood in 2017 and one in 2021.

A fatal shooting in the neighborhood earlier this month spurred the owners of Carson City Saloon to temporarily close and call South Side violence an “absolute nightmare.”

Related:

• Police issue dozens of citations in South Side crime crackdown

• 'False narrative' on South Side violence is bad for the neighborhood and business, councilman says

• Carson City Saloon owner says South Side violence an 'absolute nightmare'

But City Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South Side, last week told the Tribune-Review that people spreading concerns about South Side violence are perpetuating a “false narrative.” South Side generally isn’t dangerous, the councilman has contended, and dramatized rumors that it is hurting local businesses and encourage more negative behaviors.

Residents and business owners who talked to the Tribune-Review last week had mixed feelings. Some said they felt safe in South Side and pushed back against people giving their neighborhood a bad reputation. Others said they felt the problems were real and concerning.

Police Chief Larry Scirotto last week said South Side is “chaotic” rather than dangerous and pledged to prioritize getting that chaos under control. Police last weekend issued dozens of citations in South Side in an effort to rein in crime there.