CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- New crime statistics released by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Tuesday show murders are on the rise in the city.

There have been 54 this year compared to 49 during this same time last year. Residential burglaries are also up by about 10 percent.

The good news is business burglaries are down 24 percent. And one part of Charlotte that has been riddled with crime is seeing some big changes.

As neighborhoods go, Oakdale Village is not very large. It has three streets and about 70 homes. But for its size it had a big crime problem.

"We have a lot of foreclosures over here and a lot of rental property. People just want a place to live. They don’t care about keeping their yard looking nice," said resident Teresa Perry.

Perry is leader of Oakdale Village's community watch program. She fought for its creation.

Sgt. Steve Huber has worked alongside Perry.

"That's what we've tried to do -- identify some of the neighborhoods where we as a police agency can have the most impact," said Huber.

Oakdale Village has been impacted. The department used grant money to pay for overtime so that this community could get extra patrols, and a burglary task force has been hard at work.

"Police are going up and down the street all the time, people are going to be hesitant about breaking in," Perry said.

From January to August there were 10 break-ins. Since then, there have been none.

"We are very proud for them because that says what they are doing is working and we feel that what we're doing is working," Huber said.

Taking Charlotte back from the criminals, one street, one neighborhood at a time is Chief Rodney Monroe’s crime fighting tragedy. Oakdale Village residents say they like what they have seen so far.

Next month the chief says preliminary crime statistics for September will show a reduction both in property and violent crime citywide. It would be the first decline in both categories since last fall.