I think it has more to do with houses costing a million dollars. Nice try though

gtspencer:

That was my first reaction. It has more to do with the gentrification of EPA than something EPAPD is doing.

@Menlo Voter " ... gentrification..."

For whatever reason, I am glad for East Palo Alto. It's been a long road.

In 1992, EPA was the murder capital of the US with 42 murders. 17 of those were drive-by shootings outside a block of apartments on E. O'Keefe St, a part of EPA in the Willows neighborhood.

Nearly all of those killings were drug related. The area that is now the called "University Circle" and hosts the Five Seasons Hotel along with a number of other office high-rises was once a retail area called "Whiskey Gulch." Whiskey Gulch was a main drug dealing point. Fancy cars would exit 101, drive through Whiskey Gulch and make their buys.

Policing did help to break up the drug related crime. One technique was for police to note buyer car license plates and send the owner's courtesy letters warning them they had been seen in a dangerous area. There was also a region-wide task force that, together with DEA and FBI, made a massive arrest at that time.

But ultimately, for that part of EPA, it was gentrification via the University Circle project that literally and permanently removed the drug culture from the Willows. After that, the same apartments on E. O'Keefe remodeled and the entire area upscaled.

There are many similar redevelopment projects east of 101. I don't know the geometries well enough to guess how they may have impacted crime, but I'm sure gentrification played a role.

Last night's news reports put murder counts in prior years at about 5/yr.

Yes, whatever the reason, let's take the victory. Since the development of the downtown and IKEA shopping center, the city has really changed... definitely for the better!

The censors are busy on this article. No mention of the real driver of the drop in homicides. I guess a generic "gentrification" will have to do.