no murders in 2012, what did they do right that Chicago did not? [View all]

[gejohnston]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/aurora-homicide-free-illi_n_2396554.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/aurora/ct-met-aurora-no-homicides-20130102,0,7451538.story

During the city's more violent years, Aurora police and city officials blamed gang tensions, in part, for higher slaying totals, according to media reports. Thomas attributed the drop to "proactive police work."

"We changed our tactics up and have been successful," he said.

n the police department, a philosophy change helped bring in new resources and manpower from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Aurora officers teamed up with federal agents on massive sweeps, arresting dozens of gang members on drug or murder charges. Federal charges meant longer sentences, so some men were imprisoned for decades and others were motivated to cooperate on other investigations. The sweeps culminated in 2007 with Operation First Degree Burn, which charged 31 men with 22 unsolved gang murders.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/17317331-418/for-the-first-time-in-six-decades-aurora-ends-year-with-no-murders.html

Kudos to Aurora PD, ATF, and FBI.