Laredo, TX was once a city with high violent and property crime rates. In 1992, Laredo had a peak homicide rate of 16.4 per 100,000 population when most other cities of this size averaged homicide rates around 9.4. During the past 10 years, Laredo has managed to significantly decrease the homicide rate. In 2001, Laredo’s homicide rate fell to 4.4 per 100,000 population, much lower than other cities of comparable size. Laredo’s burglary and motor vehicle theft rates were comparable to the overall median rate observed around the country while the larceny theft rate remained much above the rates in similar cities in 2001. Factors that led to Laredo’s crime rate reductions included both national and local factors, such as the waning crack epidemic, the increase in incarceration numbers, and the growing number of Federal law enforcement agents. Unfortunately, despite the decreases in crime rates seen during the 1990s, homicide rates in Laredo have been significantly increasing since 2001, reaching 9.7 per 100,000 population in 2005. Homicide rates and violent crime in Laredo’s sister city, Nuevo Laredo are also increasing after remaining high throughout the 1990s. The challenge to Laredo is to show that it can consistently keep crime rates at low levels in the beginning of the new millennium. Tables, notes