Birmingham homicides are down 27 percent so far in 2025, fueled in part by a 23-day stretch with no homicides in the city.

As of Monday morning, the city had 16 homicides in the first 2 ½ months of 2025 compared to 22 for the same time period in 2024.

In late 2009 and early 2010, Birmingham went 39 days without a homicide. In 2014, the city went 31 days without a homicide.

“I think when criminals see that they will be held accountable and they won’t be able to commit a crime and go free to hang out that night or next weekend, I think it makes them think twice before they choose to commit a crime,’’ said Interim Police Chief Michael Pickett.

“I think that’s having an impact.”

Additionally, Pickett said, detectives have made arrests in 12 of the 16 homicides so far this year, for a 75 percent clearance rate.

Four 2025 Birmingham homicides remain unsolved. Those are the violent deaths of Derek Marcus Burpo, Nehemiah Wren, KeJuan Gibson and Ronald Bennett Jr.

The homicide decrease comes after Birmingham ended 2024 with 152 homicides, the highest number of killings in the city in more than nine decades.

Much of that record-breaking violence was blamed on the alleged offenses Damien McDaniel, 22, of Fairfield, is set to stand trial for.

Police two weeks ago announced that McDaniel was charged in the slayings of three more people, including an on-duty firefighter. McDaniel in 2024 was charged with killing 11 people in several high-profile Birmingham homicides.

Prior to McDaniel’s arrest in those three latest cases, detectives issued charges in 57% of the 2024 killings, a dramatic increase over the 38% clearance rate in 2023.

And, as of Monday, several of Birmingham’s Part 1 crimes — homicides, robberies, burglaries, and auto thefts — were down 10.2 percent, with numbers of each offense dropping double digits.

The number of aggravated assaults, however, are up with 331 compared to 308 at this time last year.

Pickett on Monday held a press conference to discuss updates in the department’s eight-point crime reduction strategy which he previously rolled out one month ago.

The department’s Special Enforcement Team was formed by Pickett, who “pledged to make life uncomfortable for criminals in Birmingham.”

The SET is made up of officers selected from throughout the department who don’t respond to calls but instead patrol crime hot spots, targeting the most dangerous criminals based on intelligence from multiple sources including BPD Intel, precinct commander reports, and ShotSpotter data.

Pickett put the team together in the summer of 2024, and made it permanent in December when he became the interim chief.

“I’m sure you’ve probably felt, in the city, a little bit more enforcement,’’ Pickett said.

From January through March 9, SET officers made 446 arrests – 283 for felony crimes and 163 misdemeanor charges.

The team seized 80 guns, 16 of which were stolen and five of which had machine gun conversion devices.

The second point of the plan is swift apprehension of violent offenders, an initiative led by the Crime Reduction team to catch people wanted on outstanding warrants for violent crimes. The team works closely with U.S. Marshals and other federal partners.

Pickett said there have been 32 arrests, including nine for capital murder, seven were for murder, nine attempted murder, three felony assault and four for robbery.

The third point is strengthening federal partnerships, which is led by Deputy Chief JaCorey Foster.

Through the initiative, BPD will continue to work closely with federal law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office with ongoing support from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Pickett said the department has had a great relationship with the federal agencies in the past couple of years and will now start meeting with them again next week, an effort that waned under the administration of former police Chief Patrick Smith.

Pickett has also launched a Stolen Vehicles Task Force to combat the use of stolen vehicles in crimes, a joint effort with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

That initiative will kick into high gear next week, but the interim chief said even as of now, police have recovered 16 stolen vehicles.

The fifth point of the plan is to crack down in illegal guns, which is being carried out in collaboration with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to address illegal gun trafficking and straw purchases.

Officers have recovered 13 stolen guns, nine of which were altered in some way, Pickett said.

The sixth point of the plan is to have an increased command presence during peak crime hours. “We’re talking about having captains in true leadership during the evening hours, our busiest times,’’ Pickett said.

Two newly-promoted captains – Timothy Bell and Josh Osborne – will serve as utility captains during the evening hours. They’ll also be assisting the precinct captains in meeting with the community and business owners.

Pickett also discussed the Proactive Discharging Team, a team dedicated to intercepting potential shooters before violent acts occur.

Several investigators are looking into cases of where a gun has been fired into a dwelling or a vehicle. “So far, we’ve made nine arrests, and we have had 27 warrants signed, so some of those folks still need to be picked up,” he said, “but we are making strides in those areas.”

The department is also relaunching the Police Athletic Teams, which will begin Saturday at Cooper Green Park with a youth baseball league.

“We definitely want a renewed focus on encouraging our youth to participate in a safe, healthy and positive environment,’’ Pickett said. “The goal of our PAT program is going to be to foster mutual respect between law enforcement and our youth.”

Pickett thanked the public for supporting officers and trusting them, and he also thanks the men and women of the department.

“They’re risking their lives every single day when they leave the house, put this uniform on and try to make this community safer,’’ he said. “Over the last couple of months, they have really been in overdrive, and I hope the community can feel that the city is safer now.”