Columbus police say the homicide rate so far this year is 17 percent below the pace that set a record in 2017.
Homicide detectives have handled 83 cases as of last Wednesday, which is below the number at the same period a year ago. Columbus had 143 homicides for all of 2017. Detectives say there is no clear reason for the decline, and it's still not clear why 2017 was a record-setter. Police officials say they have solved 51 percent of the cases this year, as compared with 43 percent for 2017.