New Zealand's murder rate has plummeted to a 40-year low - and it is now half what it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But that doesn't ease the pain for families of those whose lives were taken too soon.
The human cost of murder is evident by a mother who still grieves for her daughter two decades on.
"People say to you, 'You'll get over it'," Lyn Whitt told Newshub. "[But] you go through something like this, you won't get over it."
Her daughter Sonia and her partner were shot dead in their Christchurch home by Sonia's ex-husband in 1995, leaving behind two young children who Ms Whitt has cared for ever since.
"Birthdays, anniversaries, both her her children's 21sts - they're all horrible days, because [Sonia's] not here to see it," Ms Whitt says.
One in five homicides are still committed by a current or ex-partner, with three-quarters of victims being women.
One-third of all homicide victims over the last decade were Maori, and nearly two-thirds were men. Around one in eight were young children.
In 2017, 48 people were victims of murder or manslaughter - the fewest such deaths since the 1970s.
"Last year, we supported 1617 people following a homicide and those are historic cases," said Victim Support chief executive Kevin Tso. "But what it reflects is that there is ongoing stress."
Detective Superintendent Tim Anderson says officers remember every case.
"Because of the nature of the investigation, and the length of time involved, and the emotions that run high within families, they certainly stick with each and every one," he told Newshub.
While memories will never leave people like Ms Whitt, she's says at least she's not angry anymore.
"My husband was - he was angry till the day he died... I'm not angry anymore."
Newshub.
