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ANCHORAGE - The state's largest city watched its homicide rate drop by more than half in 2008.

Anchorage closed out the year with 12 homicides, the city's lowest number since 2001 when 11 people were killed.

Just one year earlier, 25 people were slain.

Despite the drop, Detective Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz says "12 homicides is still 12 too many."

Markiewicz says there were no gang-motivated killings, which the detective attributes to the departments crack down on youth and violent offenders.