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The FBI has released an initial report on uniform crime in 2003, and it seems that New York is one of the safest cities in the country, ranking 211 for crime, out of 230 cities with populations over 100,000. Mayor Bloomberg excitedly proclaimed NYC was the "safest", saying, "New York City has not only retained its title as the safest big city in the country, it had defied the odds and become even safer," using a per capita breakdown of the crimes used in the report (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft), which showed that NYC had the least amount of crime for the top 10 largest cities. For example, NYC had 2,922 index crimes per 100,000 population, while Dallas topped the list with 9,244 index crimes per 100,000. The FBI is quick to say that the per capita calculations are all Bloomberg's doing; of course, they are - he's looking for some great stats to hitch his reelection train to. The police union argues that the pressure to drive down the city's crime has caused certain precincts to fake their numbers, but Bloomberg calls that an "insult to people that work in this city."
Other interesting facts from the report and the Mayor:
- Overall crime decreased 5.8% in all five boroughs, while the national average drop was 0.5%
- Most of the crime reduction came from a huge decrease in property crimes, such as auto thefts; violent crime was down by 6.9% in NYC, compared to a 6.5% decrease in cities over 9 million, while NYC's property crime decreased 5.4%, with other 9M+ cities experiencing just a 1% drop.
- NYC's police force is the largest (37,000 members) and has the most cops per capita (one officer per every 215 residents), at a cost of $5 billion a year.
You can read the preliminary FBI report here (PDF). Read the Mayor's press release. And yesterday, the Times profiled Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, in a fascinating look at how he's beloved by everyone (he's more popular than the mayor, but that's not that hard to do), except fellow city government employees.
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That still doesn’t mean I’m going to start walking through Central Park at East New York at night. Remember these are only REPORTED crimes they monitor.
Leave me to point out the only cloud in the sky.
They forgot the other half of the story, from Stratfor:
U.S.: FBI Warns of Possible Attack
May 21, 2004 1502 GMT
... In Stratfor's view, underground subways are the most vulnerable to this type of attack -- specifically those in New York City and Washington, D.C. Underground, the blast effect would be contained and could not vent, as did the blasts in Madrid. This was a tactical error on the operatives' part, but still highly successful. Had the same bombs been detonated in an underground subway, the casualty count would have been greater. The blast effect, coupled with the gas release and potential fire, would create chaos.
Adding to this assessment, Stratfor's sources reported a suspicious event on a subway train at New York City's Penn Station early May 21, where an unknown chemical -- which authorities later said might have been a cleaning fluid -- was released on a train. The incident underscores both the vulnerability of -- and nervousness about -- U.S. subway and rail systems...
huh?
out of 230 cities with populations over 230.
In other news, they still haven't caught the guy who executed someone in broad daylight on Sixth Avenue.
Also, there's a jogger missing, a mob murder trial is underway, and someone raped their ex-girlfriend's daughter.
Oh, we won't mention the college student who got killed in Prospect Park, the 25 year old gunned down in the LES, the rich lady who got thrown in the East River and drowned, or the bouncer who got stabbed and killed at Guernica. Or the drunk driver cop who ran over a family. Or girl who got hit by three different cars in Queens.
On the bright side, the guy who fell to his death in an airshaft crashing a party, the woman killed by an electrified street plate, and the girl who got hit by a subway train while retrieving her cellphone... well, those were accidents...
(don't live in NY for the safety... live in NY for the thrill of it)
All this crime reduction I heard is coming at a price. Today's NYPD personnel are overstretched, forced to work long hours sometimes, and complaining about inadequate pensions. If the force didn't number 39,000 badge-carrying personnel, they'd be even more disheartened and would be leaving in droves. Just look at the LAPD, 11,000 officers in a city of 3.7 million. I just hope that NYC doesn't go the way of LA.