Report: Miami Goes Seven Weeks Without One Murder for First Time Since 1957

From February 17 until April 12, the city did not have a homicide, which made the period a total of seven weeks and six days, according to Fox 11.

“It started in mid-February, well before anyone was locked down,” said Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina in an interview. “Why? Honestly, I don’t know. I’m just grateful it continues to go down the way it has.”

It is the first time Miami has seen such a period since 1957, when it went seven weeks and three days without a murder, according to WFTV.

However, there has been a homicide since April 12, according to the Miami Herald.

The report continued:

The streak also reflects a continuing decrease of murders in the city. In 2018, for example, the city recorded only 51 homicides, its lowest total since 1967. And the 11 homicides in Miami so far this year is running below the 14 recorded over the same time span last year, according to records provided by the city.

Overall crime in Miami is also way down so far this year in almost every category, except for vehicle thefts, which increased slightly. Burglaries are down 17 percent; thefts have dropped 22 percent; robberies were off almost 15 percent; assaults plunged 35 percent; and reported sex offenses fell 31 percent.

“Right now we can’t really tell if it’s a continuation of the trend or the pandemic,” Miami Deputy Police Chief Ron Papier said of the recent decrease in crime.

Even though social distancing and Florida’s stay-at-home order have most likely played a part, about half of the recent streak took place before the restrictions were implemented by Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez on March 12.

“We had a great start to the year. Certainly there’s a correlation to the pandemic, but we can’t say for sure just how much,” Papier concluded.