New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly today announced that the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reports for 2002 ranks New York City even lower in overall crime than it ranked in 2001.  According to FBI statistics, the City experienced a 4.5% drop in overall crime; the national average was a drop of only 0.2%. Moreover, the New York City ranked 203rd out of 225 cities across the nation on the total crime index; in 2001, the city ranked 196th.

“New York City has not only retained its title as the safest big city in the country, it has defied the odds and the economy to become even safer,” Mayor Bloomberg said.  “The men and women of the Police Department, led superbly by Commissioner Kelly, have done an incredible job implementing successful anti-crime initiatives and are doing it with fewer officers as well as the increased responsibilities of counter-terrorism.   From Operation Clean Sweep, the quality-of-life enforcement program which we announced in the first days of our administration, to Operation Spotlight, where we have focused the resources of the courts to make sure persistent misdemeanants serve meaningful sentences, we have kept driving crime down and making the streets safer for the people of this great City.”

“Thanks to the outstanding efforts of the men and women of this Department, we have made New York City the safest it's been in decades,” Commissioner Kelly said. “I want to commend them for their commitment to keep crime down to record levels. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the New York City Police Department that our City enjoys its status as the safest big city in the country.”

The FBI's total crime index ranks cities of 100,000 people or more by the number of crimes per 100,000 people.  For 2002, the total crime index in New York City was 3,140 crimes per 100,000 people.  Out of the 225 cities, which are ranked, New York City now ranks 203, between Garden Grove, California, and Henderson, Nevada—a drop of seven from last year.  Out of the nation's 10 largest cities, New York City ranked 10th with the fewest overall crimes on the total crime index.  Out of the nation’s 25 largest cities, it ranked 24th, just behind San Jose, California.
                           
The following list shows where New York City ranked out of the 25 largest cities in seven crime categories, and where the City ranked in 2001.

Six out of seven crime categories dropped significantly in New York last year but climbed nationwide.  Homicides fell 9.1%, while increasing .8% nationwide.  Motor vehicle theft fell 10.1%, while increasing 1.2% nationwide. Burglaries fell by 4.8%, while increasing 1.5% nationwide.