HPD officials say that the City of Houston has recorded the fewest numbers of murders for the first quarter of this year since 2005.

The unofficial numbers show 78 murders were recorded through the first three months of this year.

There were 88 murders for the same period in 2007. That’s an 11.3 percent decrease.

Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said the decline shows that the department’s targeted crime initiatives and overtime programs throughout the city are paying off. “While murders are nearly impossible crimes to predict and prevent, we do feel our overtime programs in place, including those officers assigned to our Crime Reduction Unit, can impact crimes that could escalate to murder,” said Chief Hurtt. 

“When we experience a decline in the most violent crime category at the same time our city’s population continues to increase, that sends a message that our ‘Keep Houston Safe’ campaign and our crime initiatives can have an impact on all types of crime,” he said.

Last week, the Crime Reduction Unit arrested its 2,000^th felony suspect.

The squad is made up of 60 officers who were deployed to neighborhoods around the city in November 2007.