Pittsburgh is less violent than it was five years ago, statistics show, and city officials attribute the improvement to a community-oriented policing approach that focuses on individuals rather than neighborhoods.

“We now have tangible evidence by looking at crime statistics to show that there has been a reduction over the past four years,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. “The number of shootings are down. The number of homicides are down. The number of violent crime acts in this city are down.”

Police and city brass showed off new data in a press conference Tuesday at police headquarters and touted the work of the bureau's Group Violence Intervention unit.

Violent crimes — murder, rape, robbery and assault — hit a five-year high in 2013: 2,181. Last year, the combined number was 1,869. By March 25, 2017, the city had seen 315 violent crimes. So far this year, there have been 218.

Nonfatal shootings fell substantially. In 2016, there were 188 nonfatal shootings in the city. That number fell 25 percent to 140 in 2017.

By this point last year, there had been 35 shootings. So far this year, there have been 15, according to Sgt. James Glick.

The unit uses a policing approach called focused deterrence, meaning it concentrates policing and community outreach efforts on groups and individuals who are most at risk of committing violence, being a victim of violence or both.

“It's not a program; it's a philosophy,” police Chief Scott Schubert said. “It's who we are. And it's who we're going to continue to be.”

Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519, mguza@tribweb.com or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib.

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