FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — The Fayetteville Police Department on Tuesday released its first quarter crime report for 2023.

While homicides are down 18 percent in Fayetteville for the first part of the year, a quarter of those cases were domestic-related.

There were seven homicides between January and March. That’s down 18 percent compared to the same time in 2022. Most of the victims were children and several of these crimes were tied to domestic violence.

Fayetteville Police Chief Kem Braden said the department is using multiple approaches to curb these types of crimes.

“One of the things we did was re-train, we had a retraining for our officers who are on patrol and responding to domestic violence incidents. We covered our policies, how we should handle those situations,” Braden said.

Fayetteville Police Department has been working with The Phoenix Center in Fayetteville since March. The non-profit assists victims of domestic violence. The center is responsible for reaching out to victims within 24 hours after each domestic violence call police officers respond to.

Since March, The Phoenix Center received more than 500 calls for help. However, limited bed space at Fayetteville shelters makes it challenging.

“If we cannot provide shelter, it’s really hard to expect victims to leave a domestic situation,” said Deanne Gerdes, executive director of The Phoenix Center said.

Gerdes said there needs to be more support and resources including food, housing, and clothing for victims.

“Someone help us help these victims that need the community to step in and help,” Gerdes said.

Click here for information about resources available to victims in Fayetteville.