New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly today announced that the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reports for 2003 ranks New York City even lower in overall crime than it ranked in 2002.  According to FBI statistics, the City experienced a 5.8% drop in overall crime – nearly 12 times greater than the national average drop of 0.5%. Moreover, New York City ranked 211th out of 230 cities across the nation on the total crime index; in 2002, the city ranked 203rd.  New York City represents 25.7% of the national decrease in crime for calendar year 2003; since 2001, New York City represents 49.6% of the national decrease in crime.

“New York City has not only retained its title as the safest big city in the country, it has defied the odds and become even safer,” Mayor Bloomberg said.  “The men and women of the Police Department, 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 2003, the total crime index in New York City was 2921.8 crimes per 100,000 people.  Out of the 230 cities which are ranked, New York City now ranks 211th, between Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Fremont, California – a drop of eight from last year.  Out of the nations 10 largest cities, New York City ranked 10th with the fewest overall crimes on the total crime index, and had the steepest drop of any of the 10 largest cities.  Out of the nation’s 25 largest cities, New York ranked 24th, just behind San Jose, California.