As previously mentioned, New York City's 414 murders in 2012 will give the city it's lowest total since the NYPD began keeping track in 1963. The previous low came in 2009, when there were 471 homicides in the city.
Mayor Bloomberg was quite happy about the news: "The fact that the safest big city in America is safer than ever is a testament to the hard work and determination of the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every day—and it also reflects our commitment to doing everything possible to stop gun violence."
Shootings in the city also dropped to 1,352, and the previous low was also in 2009 when 1,420 occurred. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly was also proud of the record-setting figure, saying "The fact that the safest big city in America is safer than ever is a testament to the hard work and determination of the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every day—and it also reflects our commitment to doing everything possible to stop gun violence."
The city attributes the number to the NYPD's Operation Impact program, which was implemented in 2003 to target "violence-prone areas." Below is the city's official press release:
With the decrease in murder, New York’s murder rate has fallen to 3.8 homicides per 100,000 residents. New York City has a far lower murder rate than other major American cities. For example:
[via Gothamist]
