Of 260 Biggest US Cities, New York's Crime Rate Ranked Safer than 245 Others

September 14, 2009—Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced that New York City remains the safest big city in America, according to data from the FBI’s Crime in the United States, the Uniform Crime Report for 2008.The report shows that violent crime decreased by four percent in New York City during 2008 outpacing a national decline.

For 2009, according to NYPD Compstat data, crime is down an additional 11 percent citywide when compared to 2008 levels. This overall reduction includes a 15 percent drop in murders, a 17 percent drop in robberies and a 12 percent decrease in rape.

“By being innovative and focusing on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals the Police Department drove down crime in 2008 and again in the first three quarters of 2009, said Mayor Bloomberg.“There have been 55 fewer murders, 2,569 fewer robberies and 1,277 fewer cars stolen than this same time just a year ago.The conventional wisdom was that crime would increase when the national economy soured, but once again we’ve proven the conventional wisdom wrong.”

“The impressive and indefatigable work of the men and women of the department, paired with technological advances supported by Mayor Bloomberg, have placed the City among the nation’s safest for many years,” said Commissioner Kelly.“New Yorkers can rest assured that the Police Department will continue its crime fighting efforts on all fronts.”

According to data included in the FBI report, of the 25 largest cities in the country reporting to the FBI, New York again recorded the lowest Index Crime rate ranking safest. Of the 260 US cities with populations larger than 100,000 New York’s crime rate ranked safer than 245 cities placing it between Torrance, California (245) and McKinney, Texas (247).

Index Crime So Far This Year Compared to Same Period Last Year,According to Compstat Data

Crime	2009 YTD
Murder	-15%
Rape	-12%
Felony Assault	0.3%
Robbery	-17%
Felony Assault	0.3%
Burglary	-11 %
Grand Larceny	-12%
Larceny Theft Auto	-15%
Total -11%	-11%

 

Percentage Change in Index Crime from 2007 – 2008, According to FBI Data

Nationwide	Crime	New York City
-3.9%	Murder	5.4%
-1.6%	Rape	1.7%
-0.7%	Robbery	1.8%
-2.5%	Assault	-9.0%
-1.9%	Violent Crime	-4.0%
2.0%	Burglary	-5.0%
0.3%	Larceny Theft	2.1%
-12.7%	Motor Vehicle Theft	-6.2%
-0.8%	Property Crime	0.3%
-0.9%	TOTAL INDEX	-0.8%

 

Total Crime Index for the Nation’s Largest Cities, According to FBI Data

Year End 2008	City	Rate
1	New York	2,377.7
2	San Jose	2,744.5
3	Los Angeles	3,307.6
4	San Diego	3,649.7
5	Las Vegas	4,913.2
6	Philadelphia	5,784.1
7	Phoenix	5,874.1
8	Houston	6,053.8
9	Dallas	6,831.1
10	San Antonio	7,938.1