Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, September 6, 2001
Release #310-01

Contact: Sunny Mindel / Matthew Higgins (212) 788-2958


MAYOR GIULIANI AND POLICE COMMISSIONER KERIK RELEASE LATEST DATA SHOWING DRAMATIC DROP IN CRIME YEAR TO DATE

ANNOUNCE THREE NEW INITIATIVES TO DRIVE CRIME
DOWN EVEN FURTHER

Overall Crime Down More Than 13 Percent to Lowest Level
in Three Decades


Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Police Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik today released the latest crime data showing that New York City's crime rate continues to plummet even as the national rate has leveled off. Overall crime as measured by the seven major felonies is down another 13.4 percent year to date, while murder has declined 12.4 percent year to date. The crime rate has now dropped more than 62 percent since 1993 -- the lowest level in three decades -- making New York City the safest large city in America.

The Mayor and Police Commissioner also announced a new initiative to ensure New York City continues to build upon its success in bringing down the crime rate. The three-prong Fall Crime Reduction Initiative will focus on deploying Operation CONDOR to reduce domestic violence, creating a violent felony apprehension team to focus on the "Top 100" wanted perpetrators, and bolstering police presence in certain areas to reduce gun violence.

"This data provides more compelling evidence that New York City's crime decline shows no signs of abating, and in fact, continues to buck the national trend," the Mayor said. "The Police Department's innovative crime fighting strategies have made it possible to bring crime down to levels not seen in three decades. The men and women of the NYPD, and all of their partners in the community, deserve praise for defying the skeptics and leading the nation in the fight against crime."

The Mayor continued, "The initiative unveiled today reflects the Police Department's commitment to building upon their success in the fight against crime by redirecting resources and developing new strategies. Despite our tremendous gains since 1994, we must always remain vigilant in identifying new opportunities to drive down crime even further."

Police Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik said, "Once again, we are reporting a decrease in crime, despite predictions that the decline in crime would stop, as is the case with other cities across the nation. New York City's crime rate continues to plunge and with the three new prongs of Operation CONDOR, we are confident that this trend will continue."

The three prongs of the Fall Crime Reduction Initiative are supported by Operation CONDOR, a Police Department planned overtime initiative to reduce crime through enforcing warrants, combating drug trafficking, and targeting other serious felonies. The three prongs of the initiative are as follows:

According to FBI crime statistics for calendar year 2000, among the 215 American cities with populations over 100,000, New York City ranked 163rd in total crime and ranked 23 out of the 25 largest cities in America. The FBI's report is comprised of crime data from jurisdictions across the country, with the number of cities reporting varying slightly from year to year. The data consists of the seven indexed crimes of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny theft and motor vehicle theft. For comparison, New York City ranked 88 in 1993 out of cities with populations over 100,000.

www.nyc.gov