As the second year of Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration comes to a close, New York City remains the safest large city in the United States in 2003.  Over the course of the past year, the crime rate continued to decrease from what were already record lows at the end of 2002.  New York City has experienced another tremendously successful year in providing safety and security to its citizens with an overall citywide crime rate decrease of almost 6% from last year, and reductions in every borough.  The Mayor was joined at a press conference to discuss the historic achievements today by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Criminal Justice Coordinator John Feinblatt at the 44th Precinct in the South Bronx – an area that has experienced an 11% drop in crime in the last year and an almost 19% drop over the last two years.

“Once again we have exceeded the national trend and made New York City even safer,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “We have improved upon already record-setting low numbers last year with reductions in every borough and a citywide crime rate that is at its lowest since 1968.  We were able to accomplish this in the face of severe budget challenges with targeted responses to high crime areas and sweeping quality-of-life initiatives. Our outstanding success in fighting crime over the last two years is a major factor in why the Big Apple is coming back, and helps explain why we haven’t seen the kind of business exodus that many people predicted would happen after 9/11, and why businesses are expanding and hiring new employees.”

Year to date, the Police Department has driven the crime rate down to its lowest level since 1968.  Total crime in the City has declined almost 5.5% from last year.  Grand larceny auto and felony assaults are leading the reductions, down by over 12% and 9.8% respectively.  The NYPD has reduced the rates for burglary by 7.3%, robbery by 4.5%, and rapes by .5%, but the numbers of homicides and grand larcenies have increased only slightly.  The NYPD has reduced crime in every borough as well.  Year to date, overall crime is down 7.1% in Queens, 5.6% in Brooklyn, 5.2% in the Bronx, 4.2% in Manhattan, and 3.6% in Staten Island.

According to FBI crime figures released today for the first 6 months of 2003, New York City remains the safest big City in the United States.  The FBI reports that New York City’s violent crime rate is down 3.3% this year compared to a nationwide reduction of 3.1%, and the City’s property crime rate is down 8.7% compared to a nationwide reduction of only .08%.  Of the 210 cities reporting with populations greater than 100,000, New York City was ranked 194th, between Ann Arbor, Michigan and Orange, California.  Of the nine cities with populations of more than one million reporting to the FBI, New York City had the lowest crime rate during the first 6 months of 2003.

The NYPD, in cooperation with the City’s Criminal Justice Coordinator, the District Attorneys and other City agencies, have been able to drive crime to record lows through the implementation of targeted crime-fighting strategies and quality-of-life initiatives.  Some initiatives have been created this year, and some of those launched in 2002 have proven even more successful in 2003.

Operation Clean Sweep: In January 2002, Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly launched Operation Clean Sweep, a direct and comprehensive quality of life enforcement program designed to respond to reports of an increase in quality of life offenses in the weeks after the September 11th attacks.  The program targets quality of life violations reported to precincts and the NYPD’s quality of life hotline, aggressively combating low-level offenders.  To date, the initiative has generated more than 20,000 arrests and 209,000 summonses throughout the five boroughs.

Operation Silent Night: In October 2002, Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly launched Operation Silent Night to combat excessive noise, targeting 24 high noise neighborhoods throughout the City.  Intensive enforcement measures include the use of sound meters, towing of vehicles, seizure of audio equipment, summonses, fines, and arrests.  Since the initiative was launched, Operation Silent Night has resulted in the issuance of 111,180 summonses (which includes parking violations and moving violations, Criminal Court summonses, and DEP noise violations).  Operation Silent Night has also proven an effective crime-fighting tool, yielding over 7,400 arrests, over 1,100 of which have been felony arrests.

Operation Impact: In January 2003, Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly launched Operation Impact, an initiative aimed at reducing and preventing serious and violent crimes by deploying approximately 1,500 Police Officers each day to strategically targeted locations or impact zones that exhibited a greater propensity for crime during certain hours and days.  These sites were selected based on analyses of crime trends identified through COMPSTAT. As part of the initiative, the NYPD tracked crimes, enforcement, and deployment on a daily basis, placing highly visible Field Command Posts throughout the impact zones, and conduct daily intelligence briefings to examine current crime trends and conditions.  Operation Impact targeted gangs and narcotics, as well as identified and apprehending individuals with outstanding warrants for past crimes.  The NYPD coordinated its efforts with the five District Attorneys and assigned Police Academy graduates to field training in the impact zones. To date, this initiative has resulted in over 364,000 summonses and almost 31,000 arrests.

Operation Crackdown: The NYPD launched Operation Crackdown in April 2002 to address complaints of drug trafficking in Hamilton Heights.  Since the initiative began, there have been over 101,000 summonses issued and over 10,700 arrests.

Anti-Gun Initiatives: In order to prevent spikes in the number of shootings from escalating into trends, the NYPD has launched several anti-gun initiatives in 2002.  The NYPD expanded its Firearms Investigations Unit, created the Bronx Gun Investigation Unit, engaged in a new initiative with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to bring more federal gun cases, and begun tracing illegal firearms to source states to identify the traffickers for federal prosecution.  In 2003, Operation Gun Stop led to 379 arrests (up from 273 in 2002) and the seizure of 186 guns, and Operation Cash for Guns captured 2,219 guns (432 more than in 2002).

On April 28, 2003 the City opened the Brooklyn Gun Court dedicated exclusively to felony gun possession cases from five Kings County precincts that account for more than half of the shootings in Brooklyn and approximately one quarter of all shootings citywide. Of the 97 cases that have been disposed so far, 99% have resulted in convictions and 98% have lead to jail or prison. Non-incarcerative sentences have dropped 94%, and median jail time has increased from 90 days to a year.

Operation Spotlight: Operation Spotlight is a multi-agency initiative launched last year to focus the attention of the criminal justice system on chronic misdemeanor offenders who commit a disproportionate amount of crime.  Specialized courts have been established in all five boroughs solely to hear Operation Spotlight cases.  The initiative has expedited the processing of narcotics laboratory reports, fast-tracked probation and parole revocations, and increased trial capacity and direct links to services for drug-addicted and mentally ill defendants.  Since the launch of the initiative, there have been over 18,000 arrests and the percentage of defendants receiving jail sentences has increased 48%, with sentences of more than 30 days increasing 75%.  The percentage of defendants detained on bail has increased nearly 20%.

DWI Forfeiture: The NYPD launched the DWI Forfeiture Initiative in February 1999 to reduce DWI incidents by seizing autos of individuals arrested for DWI and initiating civil action to take away their vehicles.  In 2003 alone, over 1,604 vehicles were taken away from drunk drivers.

STOP (Specially Targeted Offenders Project):  There are over 4000 convicted sex offenders in New York City who are required to register with the police under Megan’s Law. Launched in July 2003, STOP is a citywide program that targets the most dangerous of these sex offenders. Using carefully selected risk criteria, a group of approximately 550 offenders have been identified – the most dangerous 15%.  The hallmark of STOP is to respond early and effectively when one of these offenders violates the law, whether it be a failure to abide by the conditions of probation or parole or a failure to register under Megan’s Law.  STOP offenders are subject to intensive Parole or Probation supervision and prosecuted for Megan’s Law violations by specially trained Assistant DA’s before dedicated judges in each borough. Through December 9th, there have been 87 arrests for Megan’s Law violations for the year (up 36% from 2002) and the incarceration rate for Megan’s law violations has more than doubled.

John Doe Indictment Project: In August 2003, the Mayor launched the John Doe Indictment Project, a coordinated citywide initiative that prevents sex offenders from using the statute of limitations to escape prosecution.  Using a dedicated team of prosecutors, scientists, and investigators, the John Doe Indictment Project identifies the most serious unsolved sex crimes and indicts the perpetrators – even before they are apprehended – based upon their DNA profiles. 

Filing “John Doe” indictments before the statute of limitations has expired allows prosecutors to bring charges against sex offenders whenever they are captured.  Filing John Doe indictments before the ten-year period has elapsed satisfies the requirements of the statute of limitations, clearing the way for prosecutions to proceed whenever perpetrators are identified, regardless of how much time has passed. To date, Each DA's Office is in the process of completing its list of qualifying target cases, and one John Doe rape case has already been indicted.