And this is wikipaedia - not a wing nut news paper ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_New_York_CityCrime in New York City was high in the 1980s during the Mayor Edward I. Koch years, as the crack epidemic hit New York City, and peaked in 1990,[1] the first year of Mayor David Dinkins' administration (1990–1994). During the administration of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (1994–2002), there was a precipitous drop in crime in his first term, continuing at a slower rate in both his second term and under Mayor Michael Bloomberg (2002–present).
Many commentators have suggested that the New York City Police Department's adoption of CompStat, broken windows policing, and other strategies during the administration of Rudolph Giuliani were responsible for the drop in crime, some studies argued that the dramatic reduction in crime was strongly correlated with the increases in the number of police officers that started under Mayor Dinkins and continued through the Giuliani administration.
Freakonomics authors Steven Levitt and Steven Dubner attribute the drop in crime to the legalization of abortion in the 1970s, as they suggest that many would-be neglected children and criminals were never born. On the other hand Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Tipping Point provides a different explanation - he argues that crime was an "epidemic" and a small reduction by the police was enough to "tip" the balance.
Starting in 2005, New York City achieved the lowest crime rate among the ten largest cities in the United States.[12] Since 1991, the city has seen a continuous fifteen-year trend of decreasing crime. Neighborhoods that were once considered dangerous are now much safer. Violent crime in the city has dropped by three quarters in the twelve years ending in 2005 with the murder rate at its lowest then level since 1963 with 539 murders that year, for a murder rate of 6.58 per 100,000 people, compared to 2,245 murders in 1990. The murder rate continued to drop each year since then. In 2012, there were 414 murders, mainly occurring in the outlying, low income areas of NYC. Among the 182 U.S. cities with populations of more than 100,000, New York City ranked 136th in overall crime.[13]
In 2006, as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun control efforts, the city approved new legislation regulating handgun possession and sales. The new laws established a gun offender registry, required city gun dealers to inspect their inventories and file reports to the police twice a year, and limited individual handgun purchases to once every 90 days. The regulations also banned the use and sale of kits used to paint guns in bright or fluorescent colors, on the grounds that such kits could be used to disguise real guns as toys.
In July 2007, the city planned to install an extensive web of cameras and roadblocks designed to detect, track and deter terrorists called Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, which is similar to the City of London's "ring of steel".[14]
As of December 31, 2007 New York City had 494 reported homicides, down from 596 homicides in 2006. This marked the first year since 1963 (when crime statistics were starting to be published) that this total was fewer than 500.[15]
In 2008, there were 523 reported murders, a 5.2% rise from the previous year.[16]
In 2009 the murder rate was recorded at an almost fifty-year low at 466. This was more than a 10% decline from the previous year, and the lowest count during the period that crime statistics have been recorded.[17]
In 2010 the New York Post reported that NYPD supervisors were under increased pressure to "fudge" crime stats by downgrading major crimes to minor offenses. However, the same researchers that provided the evidence "acknowledged that major crimes were at a historic low."
In 2012, murders fell to an all time low, at 414 for the year. 2013 is on track to have fewer.
I guess when the gun laws are tightened ... shock ... horror ... crime does go down ...
I've been to NYC a good bit in the early 90's, late 90's and again in 2011 ... my favorite time was in 11 ... in the 90's you couldn't walk through any major street without someone trying to sell you sex, drugs or guns ... or want $$$ sometimes all 4 @ the same time.
Cool.
Srinath.
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