Wichita ? A new initiative to target gangs has led to a drop in gang violence in Wichita, but other areas of enforcement have been hurt by the change in strategy, police said.

In September, the police department began shifting more officers and detectives to evening hours. Since then, gang-related drive-by shootings have fallen 66 percent and gang-related firearms cases have fallen 54 percent, police said. And there have been no gang-related homicides since September.

“Those numbers went the direction we wanted them to,” Deputy Chief Tom Stolz said Tuesday. “We feel like we’re on the right track.”

Police have learned that gang-related crimes have to be solved quickly because witnesses and clues tend to disappear and retaliation shootings often follow.

But the shift in emphasis has meant other areas of enforcement have suffered, particularly drug-related crimes and traffic offenses, Stolz said.

Traffic fatalities in Wichita increased 50 percent in 2006, from 24 to 36, which Stolz called “unacceptable.” And the city’s first two homicides this year were drug-related.

Stolz said the developments may not be a coincidence and deserve police attention.