The latest crime figures released and touted by New York City show a continued decline in key categories, except for a small year-to-year uptick in felony assaults (click for the press release on the 'continued' bar below). Given some bumps and spikes, the overall trend has provided a boasting point for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly -- for a full mayoral term and a half now.
But this holiday season, the numbers, however you parse and slice them, have a special significance. They come as predecessor Rudy Giuliani runs for president -- peddling crime reduction as a unique signature of his miraculous time running City Hall. If these stats hold up, of course, the miracle continued for almost as long as Giuliani was in office -- and, under the commissionership of Kelly, who Giuliani dismissed when he became mayor.
Of course, it's the same NYPD -- which still has serious pay issues.
Dan Janison
MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND COMMISSIONER KELLY ANNOUNCE THAT CITY IS ON COURSE TO SET A NEW RECORD IN CRIME REDUCTION – FEWEST MURDERS SINCE RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT
Defying Conventional Wisdom, Domestic Violence Homicides Drop Precipitously
With Subway Ridership at Record Highs, Subway Crime at Lowest Level Ever
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced that crime in New York City fell again in 2007, marking the seventeenth straight year in which major felony crime has declined. Included in the five borough crime reduction is a 13 percent decrease in crime in the subway system, despite record ridership. The City is also on course to have fewer than 500 homicides in 2007, surpassing all records for which there is comparable information. Included in the murder decline for 2007 was another record: a 36 percent decrease in domestic violence murders. The decrease coincided with an intensive, five-year effort the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has undertaken to prevent domestic violence. The announcement took place in Harlem’s 28th Precinct, where major felony crime fell 21 percent this year compared to last year. The Mayor and the Police Commissioner were joined at the announcement by 28th Precinct Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Dwayne Montgomery and community members who have seen the improved conditions in the 28th Precinct firsthand.
“When I came into office, many believed it was impossible to drive crime, particularly murders, down any further,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Yet, beginning in 2002, crime declined steadily and murders fell below 600 annually for the first time in 40 years. That happened again in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Now, in 2007, we have reached another milestone, murders could potentially fall below 500 – and that includes a decrease in random murders where victims don’t know the perpetrators.”
“The new record low number of murders is truly a remarkable accomplishment for which the men and women of the Police Department should be justifiably proud,” said Commissioner Kelly said. “But it’s not about breaking records or crime suppression alone, it is all about saving lives. That’s something we can all celebrate on New Year’s Eve and then immediately resolve to keep up the good work in 2008.”
Among Decreases Across Every Crime Category, Murders and Transit Crime Stand Out
As the year comes to an end, major felony crime declined over 6 percent citywide compared to the same period in 2006. Since 2001, overall major felony crime has decreased 26 percent. Part of that reduction is a significant decrease in crime in the subway system, in 2007 crime fell 13 percent below the record low numbers recorded in 2006. In 1990, there was an average of 48 major crimes per day in the transit system while today there is an average of only six. This decrease comes as average weekday subway ridership in October was 5.3 million, an increase of 4.7 percent from October 2006 and the highest weekday ridership of any month in over thirty-five years.
The City is expected to fall below 500 homicides this year, the lowest level for any year for which records are available. The last year for which comparable information on homicide is available is 1963 when there were 548 homicides. Very few victims of homicides were strangers to their perpetrators or were killed in random attacks. Also, there was an impressive decline in domestic violence homicides that coincides with a five-year effort by the Police Department to reduce domestic violence. Specially trained detectives have engaged in proactive domestic violence prevention, doubling their visits to households where domestic violence had occurred. The trips to homes runs counter to the academic belief that little could be done to reduce domestic-related murders. The Police Department has assigned domestic violence officers to every precinct in the City, in some precincts, there are as many as ten domestic violence officers assigned. These specially trained officers made 76,000 domestic violence follow-up visits last year; compared to 38,000 in 2002. In that time, domestic violence-related murders have fallen by nearly half.
% Change 2007 vs. 2006
% Change since 2001
Murder
down 17%
down 25%
Rape
down 11%
down 32%
Robbery
down 8%
down 23%
Felony Assault
up 0.3%
down 26%
Burglary
down 7%
down 34%
Grand Larceny
down 4%
down 4%
Auto Theft
down 16%
down 55%
All Major Crime
down 6%
down 26%
Crime in Transit System
down 13%
down 38%
Crime in Public Housing
down 7%
down 21%
Shooting Incidents
down 7%
down 11%
Comments (8)
sure, crime is down. but is the downgrading of crime up? bloomberg should raise the starting pay and kelly should have the b_lls to resign unless the mayor does it.
mayor's modern policing in nyc- squash the numbers, take credit for the reduction and drop the pay for cops to a 25 year low. that's how i see it, and i did 21 years in the nypd.
I'm sure they're flipping out at Guiliani Partners and the campagin operation on this one. This shoots holes in the Rudy myth that only he can do it. Just think if on Mike's watch a big terror incident is stopped by the NYPD the Guiliani crew will commit a bigger mass suicide than Jonestown. To all the Rudyites be careful this is what can happen when you drink someones Koolaide.
It's entirely possible that the numbers COULD be fudged to some extent, however it's pretty hard to look around the city and not see a big difference between now and 10, 20 or 30 years ago.
Bill Bratton-He, along with the members of the NYPD deserve the credit. Rudy is a piece of ...., and Bill set the standards along with Jack Maple. Many stated that Jack was nuts, but the man knew his business although wasn't the nicest to deal with at monthly meetings. Rudy did nothing but give himself pay raises while screwing everyone else out of them. Remember the historical murder rate in 1990-----Ray Kelly was the Police Commissioner at the time, and NYC had ---2245 murders that year while Dave Dinky was the Mayor and Ray worked as his Bit.h!!! All Ray did was pick up after Bill Bratton and followed Bratton's outline.
Check the numbers too---downgrading serious felonies to minor infractions is part of it. Scrutiny of the complainants statements and reports can account for many of the crime stats coming down
But remember, Rudy destroyed the morale of the NYPD and it may never recover.Everything with Rudy was self-serving!!!
As for the number of arrests--look into the conviction rate and look at the quality of the arrests that these officers are forced to make---A kid riding a bicycle on a sidewalk-Please...
Homicides went from appr 2500 to 600. Nightly computerized analysis of crime in each precinct was instituted. Transit police were integrated into the NYPD. Liberal judges were outed to the public so that repeat offenders stayed in jail. You're still seeing the effects of Rudy- not limousine liberal Mike. Wake up and smell the coffee, percentages exaggerate reality.
Rudy & Bill Bratton did all the work, the NYPD is still using the "Bratton Play Book". The NYPD has been on Auto Pilot ever since, Sorry but I'm not impressed with the current crew trying to take credit for crime drop. Rudy & Bratton should be given the true credit. Also the current crew should address what's going on inside the NYPD with the amount of Cops who have been Arrested in the last year for Drug related Robberies etc. The amount and their crimes are shocking
Hey Truth when Bill Bratton got the credit (and rightfully so) and Time Magazine ran a great story about the job he was doing Rudy fired him. Bill Bratton gets the credit, he was the commissioner NOT Rudy. If you want to give credit to Rudy give him credit for Kerik. When all is said and done in Nov 2008 Rudy will be back at his company making money. Rudy is morphing into Al Bundy who keeps flashing back to his glory days of high school football.