CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Police Department says officers have seized more than 9,600 illegal guns so far this year and the department is on pace to recover about 900 more guns than were taken off the city's streets in 2017.

The department has made a concerted effort in recent years to find as many illegal guns as possible, and the total has climbed to the point where Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a news release that officers in 2018 were taking more than one illegal gun off the street every hour.

The department says the seizures – along with making more than 4,200 arrests on gun-related charges this year – are part of a strategy that has helped significantly reduce the number of homicides, robbery and other violent crimes in 2018.

Related stories:

Man Says He Found Gun that Led Chicago Cops to Train Tracks