well tonight in our for the people coverage in fact murders have almost doubled since the time he took office Public Safety was a big topic of discussion in last night's first Washington gubernatorial debate of this election season we are committed to cutting through the noise and factchecking both candidates in this race Marissa Rio joins us in studio now with more on Republican candidate Dave Riker's claims against Democratic candidate Bob Ferguson last night's debate was hosted by King five The Seattle Times creme 2 and so de yaka now look Public Safety is at the Forefront of this year's gubernatorial race both candidates have very different views on how to make Washington a safer place to live Bob Ferguson was elected Washington's 18th attorney general in 2012 Riker says ever since crime has gone up in fact murders have almost doubled since the time he took office let's take a look at the numbers in 2012 the year Bob Ferguson was elected attorney general there were 145 murders in the state according to the Washington Association of sheriffs and police Chiefs or WPC in 2023 there were 376 record is correct the number of murders in the state actually more than doubled it's important to note that Washington's population increased as well by over 1 million people domestic violence is up 134% crime has increased over the last 12 years in 2012 the WPC recorded 12755 reports of domestic violence in 2023 that number jumped to over 64,000 reports of domestic violence have increased by even more than 134% it's important to note some areas change the way they report crime statistics so comparing numbers doesn't always tell the full story as for what both rker and Ferguson agree on Washington state ranks last per capita in number of Law Enforcement Officers we have in the state of Washington that is fact actual in July of 2023 the WPC reported that Washington again is ranked 51st out of the 50 states and District of Columbia for the number of officers per thousand Residents Washington has 2.2 officers per 1,000 people both rker and Ferguson agree that there's a need for more law enforcement in our state when looking at 2023 is crime statistics compared to 2022 overall crime has decreased now we also fact checked Bob Ferguson's claims regarding Dave Riker's position on gun control you can find that story and you can check our sources on our website at kxly.com in studio Marissa Rio for news now Marissa thank you you can take out your phone right now and scan this QR code it will take you to our website where you can check our sources that we use to fact check both of the gubernatorial candidates