NEW YORK – New York City has been relatively peaceful this year crimewise, with murders down 21 percent and other violent crimes also on the decrease, according to New York Police Department statistics.
Through Sunday April 1, there had been 152 murders this year, compared with 193 during the same period in 2000.
Among the city’s 76 police precincts, 17 have recorded no murders so far – seven precincts in Manhattan, four each in Brooklyn and Queens, and one each in the Bronx and on Staten Island.
All of the other violent crimes – rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft – were down an average of 11 percent from last year.
Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik credited the decrease in violent crime to increased quality-of-life enforcement, and several initiatives aimed at arresting drug offenders and fugitives.
