MURDER TOTAL DROPS 12 %

CHICAGO Associated Poets -- In the first six months of 1995, 388 murders were committed in Chicago. This is substantially fewer than the 478 murders reported in the first six months of 1994. Milwaukee, Springfield, and Rockford also reported decreases. The number of murders in New York city dropped 835 to 574. This is the largest drop in the murder rate since 1960, as far back as FBI statistics go. Experts attribute this to the development of stable turf agreements between drug traffickers.