Mayor Bill De Blasio Touts Crime Drop Since He Took Office
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is crowing about the city's drop in crime under his leadership.
The mayor told reporters, including WCBS 880's Rich Lamb, that crime is down since his administration took over Jan. 1.
Homicides are down nearly 21 percent and shooting incidents have fallen more than 14 percent compared to a year ago, de Blasio said.
The mayor added that overall crime in the city dropped 2 percent.
De Blasio Touts Crime Drop Since He Took Office
"This is extraordinary progress," the mayor said.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton pointed out that on March 5, there were no murders, no shooting victims, no stabbings and no slashings and that there were no murders during a 10-day stretch in February.
De Blasio said the statistics validate his law enforcement policies, most notably ending the stop-and-frisk tactics used during the Bloomberg administration.
"Some naysayers have suggested that you couldn't bring down crime while bringing police and community back together," he said. "I think these last 10 weeks show, yes, you can and, yes, we will."
The mayor did concede that frigid cold temperatures and crippling snow storms may have kept criminals off the streets. Tuesday night after the warmest day of the year, four people were shot in the city.
De Blasio and Bratton were vague about why numbers are down, pointing to better relationships between the community and police.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
