The number of violent crimes in Washington, D.C., continues to fall.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Peter Newsham announced Tuesday that violent crime was down 22 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year, including a 14 percent reduction in homicides and a 27 percent reduction in robberies.
Bowser said crime dropped in every category in 2017, excluding thefts, which remained the same as the previous year.
There were 116 homicides in the city in 2017, and 71 percent of those cases were closed, Police Chief Peter Newsham said.
"One homicide in our city is one homicide too many, and we are committed to getting to a place and a time where we don't have any homicides in the District of Columbia," Newsham said.
The Department of Forensic Science was also able to eliminate the back log of testing rape kits, Bowser said.
The mayor and police chief attributed the drop in crime to good old fashioned police work and the use of new technologies. After officials tested a gun last week, they were able to link the 18-year-old who used it to three killings.
