Cicero Town President Larry Dominick congratulated the hard work of the Cicero Police Department and Police Supt. Bernard Harrison noting that the town has not seen a street-gang related killing in more than 14 months.

Dominick also noted that crime statistics show a significant drop in the past two years, including only one homicide last year. He credited the hard work of the Police Department. “I am very proud to announce that we did not have one street gang related killing in 2011 and not one in the past 14 months,” Dominick said.

Police Supt. Harrison said that 2010 was one of the worst years in terms of homicides, with 11 people killed. “But that included the horrible arson-related murder on Valentine’s Day of 7 people. That was a tragic aberration. Over the past six years, crime has been steadily decreasing,” Harrison said.

“The success of fighting street gangs and even crime in general starts with a zero tolerance for gang activity. We are getting more public participation but we need more from the public. We need their assistance to sustain this down trend in crimes indefinitely,” Harrison said. Harrison said that parents need to be involved in the daily lives of their children.