166 murders least in Dallas since 1967

[derby378]

Not since Lyndon Johnson was leading the country and Don Meredith was quarterbacking the Cowboys has Dallas recorded as few murders as it did last year.

The 2009 total of 166 murders marks the second consecutive year of decline and coincides with an anticipated drop in the city's totals of violent crimes and property crimes. And it comes as many big-city murder rates across the country are also dipping.

Last year's total is four fewer than the 2008 count of 170 slayings and 34 fewer than the 2007 total of 200, according to police statistics. It is a sharp contrast to the deadliest days in Dallas history, when the killings reached 500 in 1991.

The last time the city's murder total was lower was in 1967, when it was 133, police said. The 2009 murder rate of about 13 per 100,000 Dallas residents is the lowest in 51 years.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/DN-murders_06met.ART0.State.Edition2.4bed0e8.html