Hot spot policing is paying off, the police chief says in his blog.
In 2012, half of the city’s homicides occurred in two of four hot spot areas, Chief Darryl Forte says, and for many years all four areas contributed to a large number of murders.
He does not reveal where they are, other than in east, central and metro patrol divisions. But at the beginning of the year, police nearly doubled the personnel assigned to the hot spots.
As of Saturday, two of the hot spots had zero homicides, the chief said.
And overall, the city on Saturday was down by 24 homicides compared to the same time last year.
Officers in the hot spots make positive contact with residents and solve crimes, he says.
A series of robberies on Main Street ended in February after officers responded to a robbery at 3540 Main.
They learned a suspect had gone into a building in the 3700 block of Warwick.
“They waited outside in the cold and snow for an hour until they saw the suspect come out the back door of an apartment building, and he was apprehended,” the chief said.
Further investigation tied him to the other Main Street robberies as well, Forte said.
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