CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Murders in Charlotte this year are down 43 percent since this time last year.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said at this point it's too early to draw conclusions. Major Cameron Selvey said to continue cutting violent crime, the department is focusing on issues like financial crime, which can lead to violent activity. The department is also working on issues of domestic violence.

Selvey said if the number of murders remain low at the end of the year, that's when some conclusions can be drawn.

“When we're looking at domestic violence homicides, when we're looking at homicides involving the drug trade, there are definitely police strategies and community strategies that could be engaged to address those,” Selvey said.

UNC Charlotte Criminal Justice Professor Michael Turner said it's hard to draw many conclusions from the numbers so far because nationally violent crime trends don't seem consistent.

“I don't think criminologists have a good handle for why we're seeing spikes in some cities while we're seeing significant drops in other cities,” Turner said.

While the numbers are low so far, CMPD said the summer months can often be one of the most violent times of the year.