SCHENECTADY — No guns were used to kill people in Schenectady and Troy in 2018.

While that's a positive statistic, it comes with a tragic sting: The only homicides that took place in those cities last year were cases of infanticide — women accused in the deaths of their children.

In Schenectady, that alleged crime was the death of 4-month-old Rayen Puleski, whose body was found in August in an earthen hole behind the building where he and his mother, Heaven Puleski, had been living.

By contrast, there were 15 homicides in Albany last year — nearly double the city's yearly average — and many of them involved guns.

Despite the bloodshed, new Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said Monday he wants city residents to know that other major crimes, such as robbery and aggravated assaults, dropped in 2018.

"We see some of the factors involved in this uptick in homicides, and we have some strategies and plans moving forward to address them," said Hawkins, who has been on the job since September. "Overall, crime is definitely trending down in this community."

The chief noted that almost 40 percent of the city's homicides stemmed from domestic disputes, and that many of the others involved rivals or people who knew each other.

"These were individuals who had some sort of dispute, some sort of conflict and they resorted to violence — and especially in most cases, it was violence with weapons," Hawkins said.

The department plans to continue using intelligence in what he described as a targeted approach to get individuals police have identified as violent criminals and their associates off the streets, said Hawkins.

In Troy, Deputy Police Chief Dan DeWolf credited so-called "intelligence-led" policing for the drop in homicides in the Collar City in 2018.

The concept is one that Schenectady Police Chief Eric Clifford has said he believes would further reduce crime in the Electric City, as well.

DeWolf described the crime-fighting strategy as a combination of "crime analysis and being able to drill down on where your violent crime hot spots are" through the use of social media and more.

DeWolf lauded the Capital Region crime analysis center in Albany, and law enforcement agencies routinely share information with each other — a sentiment echoed by many police and city officials.

"There's no disconnect in communication like there was years ago," he added.

The Troy police commander cited instances in which police investigators might attend a high school sporting event to head off disputes that could potentially turn violent, or mount traffic stops that deter illicit activity.

DeWolf said that all of the major crimes — including burglary, rapes and robbery — were also down last year.

Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy pointed to good police work, positive economic development and the efforts of Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney's office as factors that tamped down gun violence.

He also talked about mapping crime, a component of intelligence-led policing that the police chief has said could further reduce crime in Schenectady.

"As you become more advanced, you try and look to see where crime is going to happen, so you're staying ahead of it," McCarthy said, adding your analysis "becomes more layered."

McCarthy predicts it'll be a few more years before Schenectady completely sheds the perception that it's a city addled by crime.

Schenectady Public Safety Commissioner Michael Eidens said last week that the police brass will meet in the new year to discuss intelligence-led policing.

"We want to figure out a good way of tying that concept with community-based policing (and) that we're in the process of implementing (both) at the same time," said Eidens. "It's not a cookie-cutter approach; it has to be done carefully, with a lot of thought."

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Albany's Hawkins stressed the importance of police working closely with community and social services agencies to combat mental health, poverty and the lack of educational opportunities — all of which are recognized as contributing causes of violence.

Hawkins said the department plans to team up with the school district and other organizations "who are helping our young people resolve conflicts peacefully."

He said the department has arrested suspects in most of Albany's homicides and for the others they are trying to build a solid case before bringing formal charges.

On the downside, Troy cops responded to more shots-fired calls last year than the year before, said DeWolf.

"As much as we're trying, there's still a big problem with guns in the Capital Region," he said.