The Mayor said that between 1993 and 1995, homicides in East New York, Brooklyn, dropped by 65 percent, the largest decrease in any precinct.

Like other violent crimes, homicide peaked in the early 1990's and has been mostly dropping ever since: in 1991 it hit 24,700; last year it totaled about 16,000.

Murder and non-negligent homicides dropped almost 19 percent to 91 from 112, while robberies decreased about 17 percent to 4,995 from 6,023.

Last year, according to the Hartford police, homicides in Hartford dropped to 22, compared with 36 in 1995.

After more than a decade of sharp increases, homicides by juveniles dropped substantially in 1995, and fell in 1996 and 1997.

Following a police crackdown, homicides and thefts have dropped 20 percent since the beginning of the year, according to City Hall.

As a result, shootings and homicides dropped last week to levels below what they were in the same period last year.

In any event, handgun-related homicides in Florida dropped by 29 percent from 1987 to 1992, declining to 3.6 per 100,000 residents annually from 5.0, according to F.B.I. statistics.

In 2005, reported homicides in Camden dropped to 34, 15 fewer murders than in 2004.

Town officials say homicides, which could number dozens a month in an area with just 100,000 people, have dropped to a handful for the year.