Mayor: 'Providence is a safe city'

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Despite 12 homicides in the city so far this year, Mayor Angel Taveras says crime has actually gone down.

"Providence is a safe city," the mayor said Wednesday. He and other city leaders said homicide was the only category that had not gone down.

• Timeline: 2012 Providence Homicides

The number of homicides so far this year is equal to the total number from 2011:

• One in January
• One in May
• Six in June
• Four in July

Eyewitness News looked at the number of homicides in the city over the past five years:

• There were 14 homicides in 2007
• 13 in 2008
• 24 in 2009
• 15 in 2010
• 12 in 2011

The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence says there has been some progress in violent crimes that statistics don't show, specifically that the number of gang-related homicides in Providence is down.

City leaders are hopeful that new anti-violence initiatives announced Thursday will cut down on crime in the next five months.