By Albert Silvestri
“In 2004, the safest big city in America got even safer,” Bloomberg said. “From fighting graffiti and quality-of-life issues to preventing the most violent crimes, we have been able to make New York the safest it's been in decades.”According to the report, the city experienced a 4 percent drop in overall crime from 2003, more than twice the national average of 1.8 percent. Since 2001 the city has had a 14 percent decline in crime while the national average has been a 2 percent decrease during that period.In addition, there was a marked drop in violent crimes as New York saw a 6.3 percent fall, while the rest of the country had a decline of 1.7 percent.”2004 was the third straight year with fewer than 600 homicides and the fewest homicides since 1963,” Bloomberg said of the city's record.The 2004 New York City murder rate, at seven per 100,000 of the population, was notably less than cities such as Los Angeles at 13.5, Chicago at 15.5, Philadelphia at 22.1 and Detroit at 41.5, whose rates were among the highest in the nation.In New York the number of rapes was down 11.2 percent, robberies by 6.2 percent, burglary by 7.8 percent, and motor vehicle thefts by 10.8 percent.The report said that out of the 25 largest cities in the nations, New York City ranked 25 with the fewest overall crimes. Out of the 240 largest cities across the nation, New York City ranked 221, meaning only 19 cities nationwide had less crime.Bloomberg and Kelly commended the Police Department for its hard work and dedication.”The men and women of the NYPD have proven their mettle time and again, driving crime down to what some thought were impossibly low levels,” Kelly said.
