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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 007-04
January 12, 2004

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND POLICE COMMISSIONER RAYMOND W. KELLY ANNOUNCE OPERATION IMPACT II

Impact Zones Expanded from 18 to 22 Precincts After Successful First Year

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police  Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced Operation Impact II, the continuation and expansion of an initiative launched last year to reduce and prevent serious and violent crimes by deploying over 1,000 Police Officers to strategically targeted locations.  Operation Impact was a tremendous success in 2003 and resulted in a 33% drop in crime in Impact Zones Citywide - translating to 3,612 fewer crime victims - and contributing greatly to the reduction of crime in New York City to levels not seen since the 1960s.  Operation Impact II will cover 52 Impact Zones; 25 zones are within 22 Precincts, in addition to 25 zones in 26 Subway Stations, and 2 zones in 9 housing developments. The new sites were selected based on in-depth analyses of crime trends identified through Compstat and each zone has exhibited a greater propensity for crime during certain times and days. The Mayor and Commissioner announced the initiative at the 104th Precinct in Queens, which contains one of the new impact zones.

"Operation Impact has been an enormously successful crime-fighting strategy and one of the reasons we ended 2003 with the lowest crime rate in New York City in four decades," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The NYPD kept close watch on neighborhoods with high crime rates and flooded them with Police Officers and drove crime down over 30% in just one year. We will build upon this success with Operation Impact II by expanding to 22 Precincts and deploying newly graduated officers to Impact Zones twice a year.  We will continue with this and other successful NYPD strategies to ensure that we remain the safest big city in America."

"In deciding where to put impact resources, we look at shootings, robberies and other serious crime, as well as new trends," said Commissioner Kelly. "We want to reduce entrenched crime and nip new crime trends in the bud."

By tracking crimes, enforcement, and deployment on a daily basis, placing highly visible Field Command Posts throughout Impact Zones and conducting daily intelligence briefings to examine current crime trends and conditions, the NYPD was able to reduce crime within Impact Zones by 33% in 2003.  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.  In all, Operation Impact resulted in over 32,000 arrests and almost 376,000 summonses in Impact Zones citywide in 2003.

Crime dropped dramatically in the Impact Zones from 2002-2003.  Individual crime statistics for the Impact Zones in 2003 are as follows:

Felony Crimes 2002 2003 Reduction
Murder 49 30 -38.8%
Rapes 134 111 -17.2%
Robberies 2443 1410 -42.3%
Assault 1925 1292 -32.9%
Burglaries 1749 1096 -37.3%
Grand larcenies 3901 2993 -23.3%
Grand larcenies auto 832 489 -41.2%
TOTAL 11033 7421 -32.7%
       
Shooting Victims 187 148 -20.9%
Shooting Incidents 184 128 -30.4%






MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler/Robert Lawson   (212) 788-2958

Paul Browne   (NYPD)
(646) 610-6700




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