Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced that New York is the safest city in the U.S. for the second year in a row. NYC experienced a 5.5% drop in crime (after a 5.9% drop in 2002) a rate which the Daily News calls, "nearly four times lower than in Dallas, three times lower than in Phoenix and roughly half as high as in Philadelphia or Los Angeles."
Thrilled to show that his initiatives are keeping NYC safe, Bloomberg attributed the low crime rates when noting the uptick in NY's economy and tourism, "Our outstanding success in fighting crime over the last two years is the biggest reason why the Big Apple is coming back." The murder rate is on track to be under 600 for the second year in a row, though up 1% from last year; violent crimes remained flat and auto theft (a bellwether crime, along with murder) was down 12.5%.
The NYPD has implemented a number of initiatives to crack down on criminals: Operation Impact (quality of life in high crime zones), Operation Silent Night (noice complaints), Operation Gun Stop (gun trafficking), and Specially Targette Offenders Project (sex offenders).
