The Lexington community experienced 22 homicides during 2018. Six of the murders were committed in February alone. There were two homicides in Lexington over the last five months of last year.
Police Lieutenant Albert Johnson says law enforcement presence was increased in areas where shootings had occurred, but it’s hard to know if that’s what led to fewer deaths from August to January. “We try to be more visible on patrol. We try to put narcotics officers in those areas. We put bike patrols in those areas. We put foot patrol in those areas and we do it in an effort to try to curb some of the escalating violence,” said Johnson
Johnson says persistent violent offenders are also identified by police. Johnson says the difficult part of police work is ever-changing methods used by criminals. “So, when we start deploying people in particular areas or using certain tactics to stem crime, the criminals catch on to that and they adapt. And so, at some point in time, you will see the flow of crime increase and we’ll have to again adapt our strategies to try to curb that,” noted Johnson
The police lieutenant says 2017 was a record year for murders in Lexington with 28. Johnson says it typically ebbs and flows between 12 to around 20 homicides annually.
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