In the first of what will be weekly media briefings at Pittsburgh Police headquarters, officers were optimistic over increased presence, parking enforcement and overall attention to the South Side.
Assistant Chief of Police Linda Barone admits that type of monitoring needs to continue to see longer-term change.
"We're continuing all of that effort throughout the summer months in hopes of changing the behavior over there to ensure that everyone has nice entertainment district."
Investigators say they are dealing with more violence in general with homicides and the amount of shots fired up.
Non-fatal shootings in 2022, so far, are down.
According to Commander Richard Ford, Pittsburgh Police have made arrests in about 32% of homicides. He expects that number will go up by years end.
Commander Ford feels confident police are closing in on arrests in about 8-to-9 murder cases.
"The national average, the most recent numbers from 2020 are about 50%. I expect we'll be way above that by the time the year has ended," said Commander Ford.
He also says one of those cases is the shooting outside of Oliver Citywide Academy in January. 15-year-old Marquise Campbell was shot and killed while sitting in a school van.
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