Police in the community of East Palo Alto announced on New Year's Day that there were zero homicides in the previous year, the latest milestone in a community that once had a reputation for a high murder rate.

"East Palo Alto has closed 2025 with zero murders, a testament to what is possible when a community stands together," the department said on its Facebook page. "This achievement belongs to our residents, families, community organizations, and first responders who are committed to keeping East Palo Alto a place where life is valued and protected."

The milestone is the second time in three years the community on the Peninsula recorded zero murders, also reaching the achievement in 2023.

Chief Jeff Liu told CBS News Bay Area in early 2024, "After so many years of carrying that label around, to reach zero murders for the 2023 year, that's just the hugest community accomplishment possible."

At the time, Liu credited the entire community for the success, saying everyone from local churches, to after school programs, to community leaders chipped in to create a safe and welcoming culture in the city.

The most recent homicide in East Palo Alto was an incident in April 2024.

Violent crime in East Palo Alto today is a far cry from the early 1990s, when the city was dubbed the nation's "murder capital." In 1992, 42 homicides were reported in a city that had 24,000 residents at the time, the most murders per capita in the U.S. that year.

The community had gained a reputation for high rates of violent crime in the 1980s and 1990s, at a time when the city struggled on multiple fronts, including revenue issues, the crack epidemic, along with police corruption and misconduct.

Over the past three decades, the community has undergone a major transformation, with changes in leadership and policing. At the same time, the area near University Avenue and Highway 101 that was once known as "Whiskey Gulch" has also been extensively redeveloped, with a Four Seasons hotel and a large shopping center.