For the past three years, the number of homicides in Boston has hovered around 40. But in 2024, the city is on pace for less than half that number.

The change isn’t just luck, according to the Suffolk Couty District Attorney. It’s the result of years of coordinated work by law enforcement across the state’s largest city.

As of Sept. 27, Boston had seen 15 homicides. By the same time in 2023, the number was 30. In 2022, it was 26. In 2021, it was 32, according to data provided by the Boston Police Department.

And it’s not just homicides. The state’s largest city has seen a 14% drop in shooting victims altogether, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden told MassLive in a telephone interview.

“Homicides are down because shootings are down, and that’s a good thing.”

Read the full article in MassLive