Chicago had 20 fewer killings this January than in 2018, police say.
Chicago had 20 fewer killings this January than in 2018, police say.
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CNN  — 

Chicago just recorded the lowest number of homicides in a January in nine years, police said Friday – another sign that killings in the nation’s third-largest city may be on a downward trend after a particularly deadly 2016.

January homicides in Chicago

2019: 202018: 402017: 522016: 53

  • Source: Chicago Police Department

    Twenty homicides happened there in January – the lowest number for that month since 19 were recorded in 2010, police said.

    Last month’s number of shootings, 100, is a five-year low for a January in the city, police said.

    Violent crime totals in Chicago grabbed headlines in recent years. In 2016, the city reported its highest number of homicides in two decades: 762.

    Killings have dropped since then: 650 in 2017 and 550 in 2018.

    Experts say crime tends to tick up during warm weather. Chicago had an especially brutal cold snap at the end of this January.

    Police credit technology and hirings

    Police have credited the drop in violence partly to hiring more police officers, and stronger community policing. The police department added 1,161 officers in two years, exceeding a 2016 pledge made by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Superintendent Eddie Johnson to add 970.

    CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 30: Police investigate the murder of a young man found shot to death in the back seat of a bullet-riddled car on June 30, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 300 people have been killed and more than 1700 wounded by gunfire in Chicago this year. On June 1, a task force was formed by the Chicago police, Illinois state police and the ATF to combat the gun violence in the city. ATF has formed similar task forces on a temporary basis to fight regional spikes in gun violence. Chicago's task force is the only one in the nation formed with the idea to be permanent. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
    CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 30: Police investigate the murder of a young man found shot to death in the back seat of a bullet-riddled car on June 30, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 300 people have been killed and more than 1700 wounded by gunfire in Chicago this year. On June 1, a task force was formed by the Chicago police, Illinois state police and the ATF to combat the gun violence in the city. ATF has formed similar task forces on a temporary basis to fight regional spikes in gun violence. Chicago's task force is the only one in the nation formed with the idea to be permanent. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
    Scott Olson/Getty Images North America

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    They also credit what they call data-driven policing. The department created 20 support centers where supervisors use information from many sources and technologies – including cameras and gunshot detection systems – to learn where crimes are happening and where they are likely to occur.

    “Are we where we want to be? No,” Johnson said in a statement Friday. “However, these (January 2019) figures prove that community policing has considerable merit. (The Chicago Police Department) continues to invest in ways to incorporate the invaluable knowledge of those living within our neighborhoods into our public safety strategy.”

    The city had struggled to contain violence in almost every major category of crime since 2016 after the release in late 2015 of police video that showed a white officer shooting a black teenager 16 times.

    The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was sentenced two weeks ago to 81 months in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in the death of the teen, Laquan McDonald.