Murder Rate Nears Record Low

The city is on track for the lowest number of murders since reliable record-keeping began in 1962, according to the Times. As of Dec. 27, there have been 461 murders — 35 fewer than the record set in 2007. Twelve of the city's police precincts in areas ranging from Park Slope to Upper Manhattan recorded just one murder each, while the precinct that covers Central Park didn't log a single homicide, the paper reports.

Murders peaked in 1990 when police recorded 2,245 homicides in the city. Since 2001, as the NYPD has reduced its ranks by 6,000 officers, the number of murders has declined from 649 to this year's expected low. And if the record is broken this week, it will come during a year when many anticipated that the poor economy would lead to an uptick in crime. "The mantra of, 'Do more with less' is certainly a very important principle in the Police Department," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. "And these numbers show it."

Guns remain the deadliest weapons in the city, followed by blades and blunt instruments, according to the Times. Mayor Bloomberg — who has long pushed to tighten gun regulations — touted the new figures. "People ask me, 'What are you most proud of?' and I point to crime being down, but at the same time, I point to the improving race relations in the city," Bloomberg said. "Today, people understand that crime is a bad thing, but it is not an ethnic thing or a race-based thing or a religious thing." According to less reliable stats, the city might log fewer murders this year than it has since the 1920s.

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By Ben Muessig in News on December 28, 2009 4:07 PM

Comments [rss]

Leon Freilich

SORTA

We already have the New York minute,

Which is known to farmer and herder,

And now people everywhere can talk of

An enviable New York murder.

Guest

it ain't good until it reaches 0.

then again, we'd have to murder all the murderers first.

potsmoker

ahh we can only dream of a world where everyone smokes pot and carries a mac10 that doesnt jam.

mom what no im not taking the garbage out now, i told you already, people are paying attention to me on the internets.

theLtrain

2010 won't be a record low.

potsmoker

bullshit, nyc is safe for aspiring rap artists, subway punks, and ohio transplant gothamist commenters.

guns remain the deadliest weapons in the city for people at the other end, if bloomberg would allow sane citizens who arent celebrities to be armed, then we would have a real decrease in crime and a deterent, open carry states have LOW crime rates for a reason. we need more legal and easy to license guns in the hands of sane citizens interested in personal protection.

we need more murders, of gentrifiers, yuppies, stroller nazis, organic coffee drinkers, iphone users, hipsters, williamsburg drummers, bicycling dj's, everyone whose flight from nyc would create a more interesting place that really ferments creativity.

oh and lets get rid of cats, we need less cats, feral cats and cat people. outlaw cats that will get rid of lots of loonies who have nothing better to do with their lives. ban cats, legalize pot, give everyone a gun. let god sort it out when the smoke clears.

hopefully rents will go down because we make it safe for real new yorkers and scare away the trust funders, the condo buyers, cat lovers and the stroller morons.

bring back CRACK, make crack legal.

make crack legal to deal, buy and sell on the street.

CXB for mayor!

MrManhattan

I'm not sure whether that was the most sarcastic rant I've ever read, or the best evidence that mothers of twelve year olds shouldn't give their children crack and internet access at the same time.

In either case, you're giving real (adult) pot smokers a bad name.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Now, I understand why NYPD just summons Drivers with suspended licenses regardless of how many pedestrians they killed.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

BULLSHIT. NYC isn't safe folks.

MrManhattan

What is "safe"? This city attracts all types, and for every thousand writers, artists and musicians, you're bound to get a few "aspiring rappers".

MrManhattan

While I won't defend the actual numbers (I'm neither a criminologist or a statistician), I can tell you as a New Yorker since '83 that anyone who doesn't think crime is down (except possibly on Wall Street) isn't old enough to remember the Reagan/Bush I "crack wars" years.

DanielJ

What, you mean that people aren't murdered in Central Park all the time? Why, on Law and Order I saw a young lady get shot right in the middle of Bethesda Terrace!!

These statistics are wrong, people are murdered right out on the street all the time. New York is a DANGEROUS city! Don't even visit, you'll get raped and murdered! I seen it on the TV!

longacre

Yes, and according to L&O, Whites, Asians and Hispanics are by far the most dangerous.

peanuthead

folks, the word they are using here is MURDER, not homicide, not manslaughter . . . . MURDER.

it is possible that deaths will only be recorded as murder if a murder conviction was obtained otherwise its just plain ol' homicide. now what are the homicide stats, huh? manslaughter? oh who cares, cuz its all screwed from the get go. the cops don't need to cook the books (*sizzle*); they just do not have to report a damn thing. consider, for example, pedestrian deaths where drivers are rarely charged.

http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/28/in-memoriam/

ANGRYGOD11

No, it's not possible.

We don't need a murder conviction to say someone shot 4 times in the face was murdered.

Unsolved murders, by definition, produce no murder convictions, but are recorded as such.

Mr Mel

The murder rate has been dropping steadily since Stabler & Benson have been on SVU.

mslioness

I sniff lies...

Stewart

Good news, but shouldn't it be higher if there is incremental recession induced domestic violence (a few posts down from this one)?

paperbackwriter

However, the number of violent incidents on YouTube has increased, as well as the number of fictional gangrapes at Hofstra.

TrippinJoJo

i dont believe these numbers/statistics. I smell bullshit

ANGRYGOD11

The police can and do downgrade crimes to make the their stats better.

But, not murder. NYPD doesn't have the power to override the NY Medical Examiner's decisions.

It's when everything BUT murder goes down that makes it clear NYPD is cooking the books.