Recent Crimes Spark Fears Of Bad Old Days In NYC - 1010WINS.com

Recent Crimes Spark Fears Of Bad Old Days In NYC - 1010WINS.com : "'SUBWAY SLAUGHTER'' screamed the headline of the New York Post. ``Death Rode The 2 Train, Two slain in horror ride on West Side subway'' led the Daily News. The spate of crime, including three shootings and dozens of arrests for what the mayor called ``wilding'' April 5 near Times Square, has some questioning whether the decades-long reduction in crime is starting to shift as the city struggles with massive budget cuts and a shrinking police force. 'It's very upsetting,'' said Adele Dressner, who owns a business near 34th Street. ``It could happen in the best and worst neighborhoods.''
But criminologists and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly caution against suggesting there's a trend. 'We've had some high-profile events,'' Kelly said. ``But that's going to happen in a big city like this ... it's important to keep it in context.'' FBI crime statistics show the crime rate has been falling around the country in recent years, even as the economy has tanked. And crime in the city remains at historic lows, even with a 20 percent spike in murders during the first quarter of this year, and even as the NYPD downsizes. With about 35,000 officers, the department is still by far the nation's largest. The second-largest is Chicago and it's less than half the size, with about 13,000 officers.
But there are now nearly 6,000 fewer cops than in 2002, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Kelly took over. The city's budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1 calls for a further reduction of about 1,300 officers, reached through attrition rather than layoffs."