NYC Reports No Violent Crime for 1 Day
For the first time in recent memory, a single day has passed in New York City without any reports of violent crime, Reuters reports.
That's no reports of anyone being shot, stabbed, or slashed, according to the NYPD. About 8 million people live in New York City, and for no stabbings or shootings to happen in a single day is quite a feat. Maybe all the potential criminals were recovering from too much turkey over Thanksgiving.
The day of no violent crime occurred Monday (Nov. 26). Overall, the city's murder rate is on pace for the lowest point in more than 50 years, according to Reuters.
Despite a mini spike in crime after Superstorm Sandy, violent crimes are down this year. For example, murder is down by about 23 percent over 2011. However, non-violent petty crimes like smart phone thefts have increased.
So far this year, there have been 366 reported murders in NYC. In comparison, there have been 462 reported murders in Chicago, a city with 5 million fewer people than New York, reports Reuters. Philadelphia, a city with about 7 million fewer people, has reported 301 murders.
What's to explain the drop in murders? Some point to "proactive" police tactics like the NYPD's controversial stop and frisk policy.
In general, a "stop and frisk" means that a police officer may stop you and pat you down if he reasonably believes that you have a weapon and constitute a threat to the officer's safety. However, NYC's policy has come under fire as critics say that police are disproportionately targeting minorities. Last year, of the nearly 700,000 people stopped and frisked, 87 percent were black or Latino.
So along with the good news about NYC's day of no violent crime, there's also some cause for concern. Violent crime in NYC may be decreasing, but is a possibly discriminatory police policy the price to pay for a safer city?
Related Resources:
- New York City sees a day without report of violence; murder total may be lowest since 1960 (NBC)
- Do You Have the Right to Flip Off Cops? (FindLaw's Blotter)
- Can Police Search Closed Containers in a Car? (FindLaw's Blotter)
