Given current murder rates, it seems that the city's murder rate will go down yet again this year. Newsday reports that NYC is on track "to recoard the lowest homicide rate in at least 40 years": - bout 450 for the year. Even police offices are asking "What's going on?" While murder rates alone are not the ultimate quality-of-life measures, touting low murder rates is a useful tool for Mayors and other city elected officials looking for reelection. The main reason given for the dramatic drops in murders (12% down citywide except the Bronx; nine of last year's top ten precincts with homicides have reduced murder rates) is Operation Impact, the NYPD initiative that deployed police officers into "Impact Zones" with high rates of crime, and the dedication of the police and communities to working together. A John Jay criminologist, Rick Curtis, tells Newsday, "Everyone thinks New York will eventually bottom out, and yet it hasn't; it keeps going down," while a Harlem police source says that medical technology has also helped attempted murders from turning into murders. What Gothamist found interesting is that while many areas in the city are reducing their crime rates, the Bronx "bucks the trend," which probably means its crime reductions are less than the average or they have some crimes that have been more difficult for the police to conquer. We expect the NYPD to put more presence there.
NYC's crime rates were at historic lows last year. And if you want to get an idea of what goes on the mind of a city beat cop, read Blue Blood.
