St. Louis was on pace to match its 2010 homicide rate when higher bail for illegal gun-possession was instituted. The city's homicide rate dropped 20 percent. But John Goldkamp, a Temple professor who has studied the city's bail and court systems, called the idea that raising bail prevents crime a myth and that better engagement with offenders would have a greater effect. "It's not bail conditions. It's what we do with defendants accused of gun-related crimes," he said.