Bloomberg On Crime: 'Every Borough Has Gotten Safer'
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Crime is at a historic low in New York City, according to Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
The Mayor hit the airwaves on 1010 WINS on Sunday morning and credited the drop to smart policing, tough gun laws, and heroic work by the NYPD.
The statements were part of Bloomberg's mid-year crime update, the Mayor announced that crime is down 33-percent since 2011 and that murders and shootings are both down by 29-percent since 2012.
The shift in crime stats isn't limited to just one neighborhood, Bloomberg said.
"That great news isn't isolated to a few neighborhoods – every borough has gotten far safer. Two decades ago, Manhattan's Upper East Side was considered one of the safest parts of the City. Today, nearly every single precinct in the City has fewer violent crimes than the Upper East Side did back then," the Mayor announced.
Mayor Bloomberg specifically cited the Bronx in his address.
"Consider the Bronx, which two decades ago was one of the most violent places in the nation: In 1990, the year when our City had its most homicides, there were 651 murders in the Bronx. Last year, there were 114 – and this year, murders in the Bronx are down another 36 percent compared to last year. In fact, this year, for the first time since 1966, when Mickey Mantle was in centerfield at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx is on pace to have fewer than 100 homicides," the Mayor said.
And added that Brooklyn was also on pace for a safer 2013.
"It's not only the Bronx that's getting safer by the day – for example, look at Brooklyn. Last year, for the first time since the early 1960s, Brooklyn had fewer than 150 homicides. And this year, like the Bronx, it's on pace to have even fewer," Bloomberg announced.
The address by Bloomberg came the same day that members of 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement Who Care spoke out against the possible consideration of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly for Homeland Security Secretary.
The group rallied in front of One Police Plaza on Sunday morning and voiced concerns over profiling and stop and frisk among other things.
The NYPD responded to the group and said that during Commissioner Kelly's tenure the NYPD has driven down murders and shootings, saved lives, and prevented terrorist attacks in compliance with Federal Handschu guidelines.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
