Compared to last year, there is a 14.5 percent decrease in the number of murders. The decrease is not limited to the number of murders alone. New York is also less and less burgled, fewer cars are stolen and fewer people are mugged. Police use of weapons also declined. This year, up to December 17, there were 23 incidents involving an officer using his weapon, up from 37 last year.
In the 1990s, more than 2,000 murders took place in the American city every year. “We have the lowest crime rate here since the 1950s,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said at a recent news conference. He predicts a further decline in crime. “Informed, engaged and empowered communities continue to push the numbers down.”
Focus on the neighbourhood
O’Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio credit the decrease to the reinforcement of the neighborhood police force, a strategy that the police have been using since 2015. “We’re giving our police the opportunity to build and grow relationships,” O’Neill said. “No one knows better what is going on in an apartment block than the people who live and work there.”
Each district has two “district coordination officers” who run the district, plus 12 “sector officers,” O’Neill said. Everyone is given the task of working in the same area regularly, instead of shifting. In this way, officers get to know the people and problems in their own community better. “We’re giving them back the ability to make decisions,” O’Neill said.
Of the city’s 77 neighborhoods, 50 have operated under this model since 2015, and crimes recorded there have fallen more rapidly, O’Neill said, adding that he hopes to implement the strategy citywide next year.
Gang violence
O’Neill cited the focus on reducing gang violence as a second reason for improving crime statistics. Inspectors and detectives work closely with local agents in organized crime investigations. “We’re targeting gangs that commit most of the violence in New York,” O’Neill said. “I think this, combined with the neighborhood police, is why crime rates are falling.”
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