Trauma surgeons in Washington, D.C., like Eddie Cornwall and Mallory Williams, have played a crucial role in reducing the city's murder rate. While the number of homicides has halved in the past 30 years, it's not just because the city has become safer. Rather, the decline can be attributed to the exceptional skills of these surgeons who have saved many lives that were once lost. The murder rate in a city does not solely represent the number of individuals affected by potentially lethal violence but also takes into account how successful doctors are at saving lives once victims reach the hospital.