Bratton: Homicide Rate Down So Far In 2014 Compared To Last Year
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The new year has started out with nearly 20 percent fewer homicides compared with the same time period in 2013, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Friday.
As WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported, Bratton said the department is on the right track when it comes to homicides.
"There have been 10 fewer murders so far this year versus the same period last year," marking a more than 18 percent drop, said the commissioner.
Bratton: Homicide Rate Down So Far In 2014 Compared To Last Year
Bratton attributes the drop to community cooperation and technology.
"License plate scanning, cameras. It is phenomenal and I think that, along with just good, old-fashioned detective work, really plays a great role in it," he told Miller.
So far in 2014, we've faced one cold snap after another. Bratton was asked whether the Polar Vortex has played a role in the decline.
"Oh, Jack Frost is always a policeman's best friend, so whether it was a factor, we'll see," he said. "I've had years where it's been a horrific winter and it's gone up. So I think that might be an old policeman's tale as much as anything."
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who assumed office on Jan. 1, ran on a platform of reforming the controversial stop-and-frisk tactic and of instituting better community-police relations.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
