Gwinnett Homicide Rate Dropped in 2015

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- The number of illegal killings in Gwinnett County dropped in 2015, although the rate at which police have solved them also dipped slightly.

As of Thursday, there were 28 confirmed homicides in the county in 2015, according to Gwinnett County Police. That’s down from 37 in 2014.

The Gwinnett Daily Post has a look at the numbers in Thursday’s edition.

County police report they have cleared 78% of the 23 homicide cases that were in their jurisdiction this year. That’s down from an almost 94% clearance rate in 2014.

Police Cpl. Deon Washington told the Daily Post that the number of drug-related killings the department has seen may have contributed to the dip, which still leaves Gwinnett Police well above the national average for solving homicide cases.

“Some of the cases have a drug nexus which makes the suspect pool larger and more difficult to access,” Washington told the paper. “In addition, some of the parties involved in these cases are not forthcoming with police. These factors create obstacles for detectives and, in turn, the cases become more difficult to solve.”

Police remain confident they’ll be making arrests soon in several cases, Washington said.

Five Gwinnett County homicide cases happened within the city limits of Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Norcross. Those were worked by city police departments and all are believed to have been domestic incidents.