DES MOINES, Iowa– An effort from Des Moines Police officers to get guns off of the street and prevent gun violence is having a positive impact.

The city is seeing lower rates of criminal homicides so far in 2025 compared to years past. Now, officers are hoping that this is a trend, rather than a fad.

“We know that we’re putting in the work to get out there and get the guns off the streets, make sure that we, you know, have solid prosecutions to present to the county attorney’s office. But you also have to look into the neighborhoods and see exactly how are those interactions going in the neighborhoods and what are people doing to maybe walk away from a fight or to put the gun down,” said Sergeant Paul Parizek with the DMPD.

“We’re hoping that our messaging over the years on how to avoid violence is finally settling in. And we’re at a spot where we’re hoping this will be our normal.”

While the number of criminal homicides is down, police say that the number of gun seizures has increased, up ten percent from this time last year. While police say it’s hard to measure prevention, Sergeant Parizek says it’s an initiative that’s having a positive impact.

“When you look at the number of guns that we’ve taken off the street and and see that it’s a 10 percent increase from the same time period last year, we know that that interdiction is saving lives. If we’re taking the guns out of bad guys hands and they’re not firing shots, then people aren’t getting shot. That’s pretty simple math right there.”

Sergeant Parizek said that within a 12-hour period Tuesday, five illegally possessed firearms were taken by police, a number that’s even shocking for law enforcement, and it’s an issue that Sergeant Parizek says police will continue to prioritize.