Lexington homicides hit record high. Then, violent crime plummeted. Here’s how.

A partnership created in 2018 — following a year with the most homicides in Lexington history — has helped significantly curtail violent crime in the city, according to authorities.

In January of last year, the Fayette County Violent Crime Task Force was created with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to focus on the city’s most violent offenders and reduce crime.

The efforts of the task force played a role in a 13 percent decrease in violent crimes in Lexington from 2017 to 2018. The decrease includes reductions in homicides (down 21 percent), robberies (down 21 percent), aggravated assaults (down 11 percent) and shootings (down 23 percent), the U.S. attorney’s office announced Thursday.

After a record 28 homicides in Lexington in 2017 and 20 in the first seven months of 2018, there have been just five in the last seven months.

“We’re targeting some of the worst of the worst,” said U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives Special Agent in Charge Stuart Lowrey.

Mayor Linda Gorton said Lexington in 2018 had its lowest rate of serious crimes — murder, rape and robbery — in six years.

“Lexington is one of the safest cities of its size in the country,” Gorton said Thursday.

Participants in the task force, which include the U.S. attorney’s office; the Fayette commonwealth attorney’s office; Lexington Police Department; Fayette County sheriff; ATF; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Federal Bureau of Investigation prosecuted 88 people in 2018 following investigations of violent offenders and drug traffickers, according to the U.S. attorney.

The plan is a reinvigorated version of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a George W. Bush-era program initially launched in 2001 to tackle gun crime. Filing federal charges can get longer sentences for criminals.

The task force met regularly to share information; discuss cases and investigations; and coordinate efforts, said U.S. Attorney Robert Duncan.

Duncan said 50 illegal firearms were removed from the streets through the task force and the city has seized nearly $200,000 of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl.

“That benefits not only Lexington, but the entire Central Kentucky community,” he said. “Through our collective efforts, I believe we are making a difference.”

Of the 70 arrests ATF has been involved in, the suspects accounted for more than 550 prior arrests, according to Lowrey.

The prosecutions and convictions included Andre Stackhouse, who was arrested in January 2018 when police found 244 grams of a heroin/fentanyl mix and two firearms during a search of his home. He had six prior felony convictions, including drug trafficking, from Chicago. Another example was Davion Bledsoe, who was arrested in April. He was allegedly found with nearly 9 grams of heroin and 19 grams of crack cocaine, as well as a stolen firearm, in a car he crashed while attempting to evade police, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The task force also conducted Operation Triple Beam — Bourbon Trail Initiative, which focused on reducing crime in Central Kentucky “by identifying and arresting violent fugitives, collecting intelligence and removing individuals who had committed — and were committing — crimes from the community,” according to a release. The three-month operation led to the arrest of 132 people along with the seizing of illegal drugs and recovery of 37 firearms.

Lexington police also said Thursday it has had success with NIBIN (the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network), which they announced it acquired in October. The state-of-the-art computer can analyze shell casings and help police solve crimes more quickly.

Duncan said the U.S. Attorney’s office stresses being a good partner and effectively engaging with other law enforcement agencies to combat the violent crime problem.

“We have done a good job with that historically in our district. We had a renewed emphasis and a renewed focus on that, and we’re fortunate to have the outstanding partners we have to work with,” Duncan said.

This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 12:21 PM.