Do you think Crime is down in NYC

Public Safety
Under Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the neighborhoods of New York have become safer than ever. Crime is down 20% citywide and down in every borough. Innovative crime-fighting techniques and the professionalism of the New York Police Department have proven that a zero-tolerance approach to crime benefits residents and businesses in all of New York's communities. According to FBI statistics, New York is America's Safest Big City.


Operation Impact, originally launched in January 2003, has made a substantial contribution to the overall reduction in crime, with major felonies in impact zones decreasing 26% in 2004. The number of homicides in impact zones decreased 40%, leading to a Citywide decline of 25%. In 2004, the City had the lowest number of murders since 1963.


Mayor Bloomberg has shown career criminals that our justice system is not a revolving door. Operation Spotlight has turned the focus of the justice system on the chronic misdemeanor offenders who commit a disproportionate number of crimes.


Operation Safe Housing is a four-pronged initiative aimed at reducing drug-dealing, sexual assault, and gun violence in New York City public housing. In the past three years, crime in public housing is down 14%.


New Yorkers deserve safe subways, and under Mayor Bloomberg, crime on the subways has fallen 10%.


In the past three years, the Police Department has been entrusted with the remarkable task of protecting New York from terrorism. The NYPD devotes more than 1,000 officers daily to counter-terrorism, including the protection of critical infrastructure and landmarks.


Sexual assault is a heinous crime and Mayor Bloomberg has used the latest technology to prevent sex crimes and punish their perpetrators. The John Doe Indictment project uses DNA technology to prevent sex offenders from using the statute of limitations to escape prosecution. The Bronx Sexual Assault Response Team uses specialized healthcare professionals to identify, collect, and package forensic evidence, accurately document injuries, and attend to the emotional needs of rape victims. And thanks to STOP (Specially Targeted Offenders Project), arrests for Megan's Law violations have more than doubled.


Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals reduces gun violence. Mayor Bloomberg created the Brooklyn Gun Court to deal exclusively with felony gun possession cases. In 2004, shootings fell 6.4% across the City.


Mayor Bloomberg has dedicated special resources to fighting domestic violence. He is opening a Family Justice Center, where, with only one appointment, victims of domestic violence will be able to meet with a prosecutor, petition for an order of protection, receive legal advice on housing and custody issues, speak with a trained counselor, and apply for housing and financial assistance. He created Domestic Violence Response Teams to focus on the two precincts with the highest incidences of domestic violence. He has increased the number of emergency beds available for victims of domestic violence by nearly 36%, and signed a law that ensured victims emergency housing, with or without documentation of abuse. Use of digital technology allows police, prosecutors, and judges to more effectively deal with perpetrators of domestic violence. These initiatives have all contributed to the 27% drop in domestic violence.

Quality of Life
311: 311, the one-stop phone call that gives all New Yorkers a direct line to their government, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and in more than 170 languages. Since it's inception in 2003, 311 has fielded nearly 20 million calls, and still managed to keep average waiting time below 35 seconds.


Graffiti: The Citywide Anti-Graffiti Initiative has cleaned up more than 57 million square feet of graffiti across the Five Boroughs and kept vandalism from threatening the beauty of our City.


Clean Streets: Using the same technology and targeted deployment that has been so successful for the NYPD, the Sanitation Department launched Operation N.I.C.E. From 2001 to 2004, citywide street ratings of "acceptably clean" have increased from 85.9% to 89.8%--the best in 30 years. The Mayor has increased refuse basket collection in our neighborhoods. For his efforts to improve the cleanliness of our City, Mayor Bloomberg accepted the 'Clean City Recognition Award' from Keep America Beautiful, the nation's largest volunteer-based community and education organization.


Noise: Excessive noise is more than an annoyance; it's a crime. In October 2002, Mayor Bloomberg launched Operation Silent Night to target high-noise neighborhoods and increase enforcement of the noise code. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg, New Yorkers from throughout the City can sleep a little easier: Operation Silent Night has led to more than 200,000 summonses, 15,000 arrests, and 200 seized vehicles.


Overdevelopment: Maintaining the character and integrity of our neighborhoods has been one of Mayor Bloomberg's top priorities. He has rezoned lower density neighborhoods like Bensonhurst, Throgs Neck, and Great Kills to curb overdevelopment.

Traffic: Mayor Bloomberg has taken commercial traffic off of local streets by such initiatives as opening up portions of the Grand Central Parkway for trucks and the reactivation of the Staten Island Railroad for freight traffic. And he has worked to maintain and upgrade our roads, with a pothole request now only one phone call to 311 away: since Mayor Bloomberg took office, more than 600,000 potholes have been filled.