LANSING, Mich. — Lansing's annual crime report is out, and it shows a drop in the number of murders and violent crimes.
Violent crime is down 14 percent compared to 2017. The number of murders in a year went down from 14 in 2017, to eight last year. The first murder in 2018 didn't happen until May. Out of the eight murders last year, two remain unsolved.
The first murder of 2018 and the last for the year are the two police are still trying to solve.
One of them was just a few weeks ago. Police found 28-year-old Anthony Barfield dead at an apartment complex on Bayview. They don't believe it was a random act but they don't have a suspect right now.
The other case they are still working on is the murder of Anthony Stitt. He was found dead outside of a home in the area of Lucie and Anson Streets last May. Police had responded to a call about gunshots in the middle of the night. They still believe Stitt's death was a homicide but they don't have any suspects.
When it comes to the downturn in violent crime stats, Lansing's police chief credits cooperation with other police departments.
"But really, the key there is that we are taking all of our law enforcement resources and combining them on the most violent offenders of the city of Lansing. We said it once, we said it twice, we said it three times: violent crime, gun violence specifically, won't be tolerated in the city of Lansing," Chief Mike Yankowski said.
Lansing police are asking anyone with information on the two cases to call them.
